I enjoyed learning about other cultures and their views and attitudes towards sex and relationships, even if some of the subject matter made for uncomfortable and upsetting reading. It means rethinking sex-education, challenging oppressive beliefs and finding new ways to talk about our sex (and sexless) lives. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading. An urgent, myth-busting book that dismantles sex misinformation and reimagines sexual freedom for today.

Biography: Sophia Smith Galer is a multi-award-winning journalist, working as Senior News Reporter for VICE World News. We are constantly expanding our range of books, social stationery and calendars, with all the leading publishers and suppliers. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Quick turnaround – low production value/entry barriers – power to reach people who’ll find it empowering.Sophia Smith Galer's book is a practical, no-nonsense account debunking many of the still-recurrent myths around sex and sexuality.

The very, very short list of suggested reading at the back features reference to other books that were great such as A Curious History of Sex. So, what is the effect of growing up around the idea that you’re only worth as much as your sexual status, because your religion – the moral code you and your community cling to – told you so? In Losing It Sophia Smith Galer investigates the immense power that sex myths continue to hold over our lives, and speaks to people who are especially affected by them. She was also selected as a One to Watch by the Edinburgh Television Festival in 2020 and has a Webby in Social Media for Arts and Culture.

From Malik, an asexual who wants to be in a loving but sex-free relationship, to Blair, who cried the first time she held hands with a man because she believed she was 'cheating' on her future husband. Another of these countries, Turkey, was forced to issue a decree in 2002 banning virginity testing after their health minister tried to bring in a rule that midwife and nursing students should be virgins. It is more common for men to be born of virgins than to be remarked on for being virgins themselves; this includes Jesus Christ but also Alexander the Great and the twins Romulus and Remus. She’s been involved in breaking a number of exclusive stories, including scoops for VICE World News on a US donor funding anti-abortion talks in British schools; and the UK government only providing half the money it promised for sex education in England. I wish I had this book to read when I was a young adult trying to live in a modern world whilst being raised in a conservative household that upheld a tradition of sexual myths and purity culture.

You have been one of the pioneer’s for using TikTok to communicate your journalism, why did you decide to start using this medium?All that ambition and awareness dissolved in front of this woman’s formidable command of the room, because no husband was going to love us if we were special-glueless. Where women have long been harmed by the virginity myth, in which sexual inexperience increases their desirability, men have been harmed by the opposite idea – that sexual experience, prowess and success improves their status: the virility myth.

Why then - in the age of the internet and gender equality - do myths around sex and virginity persist? For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. While most heterosexual women would say that many things other than looks and power can make a man attractive, dating reveals uncomfortable truths that reinforce these gender scripts. You may have also listened to the song ‘Fifteen’ from Taylor Swift’s second album, in which she sings the lyrics: ‘Abigail gave everything she had / To a boy who changed his mind / And we both cried.

This is absolutely essential reading for teachers of PSHE - especially in secondary schools - but also think that it’s such an important book to pick up if you’ve left school and believe that your own sex and relationships education from school was lacking. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. I know that they didn’t affect lots of the girls in the year, who sniggered, laughing her archaism off for what it was. First released in 2016, the app allows users to create short-form videos between 15 seconds and 10 minutes. Whether it’s on the internet, in a tabloid article or in gossip from neighbours, we are frequently reminded of how much more positively virginal women may be looked at than non-virginal, not only in conservative communities, but also in more liberal ones.