Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia

by Myriam Daguzan Bernier, Cécile Gariépy (Illustrator), Charles Simard (Translator)

Overview

★ “What makes this sex-ed title stand out is the up-to-the-minute dialogue around age-old concerns combined with discussions about broader concepts…Gariépy’s radiant, curvy, stylized digital graphics are a perfect fit for the body-positive text…Non-judgemental, trustworthy, and savvy, Bernier is the counsellor we all wished we had access to in high school.”—Quill&Quire, starred review

From A to Z, Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia is an inclusive guide to sexuality for teens.

The 150 entries cover key ideas about identity, relationships, self-image, sex and body positivity—and no topic is taboo. From bisexuality to Kamasutra to #MeToo, Naked offers answers to questions about sexuality that teens have always had but have been afraid to ask. What is consent? What does gender fluid mean? What kind of contraception should I use? With contemporary examples, vibrant illustrations and additional information and resources for young readers with more questions, Naked is essential reading for today's teens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459823150
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/17/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Lexile:	1130L (what's this?)
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Myriam Daguzan Bernier is the author of the blog La tête dans le cul and a regular columnist for ICI Radio-Canada Première’s radio show Moteur de recherche. She is also a communication specialist and instructor at L’inis, Québec’s national institute of sound and image. Myriam is currently studying sexology at Université du Québec à Montréal and plans to become a sexologist focusing on a feminist and inclusive approach.

Cécile Gariépy is a Montreal-based illustrator. She has illustrated in many different media for clients such as the New York Times, Google and Esquire UK. Cécile loves images that tell stories, and her playful art puts an emphasis on color, composition and character design.

Charles Simard is a Québécois editor and translator from Tiohtià꞉ke / Montréal. He works as poetry, fiction, and nonfiction editor for Talonbooks in Vancouver on Coast Salish Territory. His published work includes the essay Littérature, analyse et forme: Herbert, Tolkien, Borges, Eco (EUE, 2010) and a number of translations for Orca Book Publishers, including Elise Gravel’s The Wrench and Myriam Daguzan Bernier’s dictionary of sexuality, Naked!. As a lexicographer, he has collaborated on the making of the popular linguistic suite Antidote in its bilingual editions. He holds a PhD in literature from Université de Montréal and was a postdoctoral fellow at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.

Editorial Reviews

Lives up to its name and also doesn’t speak down to its audience. I whole-heartedly recommend this title for the inquisitive and curious teens in your life, and for adults as well if they want to learn about concepts that are not often covered in other resources for teens. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

★ “What makes this sex-ed title stand out is the up-to-the-minute dialogue around age-old concerns combined with discussions about broader concepts…Gariépy’s radiant, curvy, stylized digital graphics are a perfect fit for the body-positive text…Non-judgemental, trustworthy, and savvy, Bernier is the counsellor we all wished we had access to in high school.

starred review Quill & Quire

This eye-opening encyclopedia is destined to become a staple of every middle school and high school library...Thoughtful and informative, consistently reminding the readers that their lived experiences are valid and completely normal..I would encourage all readers to pick up a copy of Naked.

Canadian Children's Book News

Spunky…Filled with encouraging language and imagery to reassure teens that there is no such thing as normal, right, or wrong when it comes to consensual human interactions.

Booklist

The perfect compendium of sex/sexuality for curious teens during a heightened time of misinformation.

Brooklyn Public Library

04/14/2023

Gr 10 Up—This lively compendium is described in the text of one entry as "intended to be the most inclusive and the least gendered of encyclopedias," though it's not meant to serve as a textbook or exhaustive guide. There is an entry for cervical mucus, for example, but not a separate entry for cervix. The tone throughout is sex-positive and non-clinical. Many entries are provided for sex-adjacent terms and concepts, such as bathrooms, fatphobia, and victim blaming. While some descriptions are no more than a couple of paragraphs, many are longer and more comprehensive, such as a six-page chart on contraception methods, for example, or three pages on STDs and STIs. With author and publisher from Canada, most references are to Canadian laws and institutions, though many allowances are made for U.S.-based readers, and many resources are not country-specific. Daguzan Bernier uses the extended initialism LGBTQQIP2SAA+ to refer to the spectrum of traditionally marginalized sexualities and gender identities. Cartoon illustrations by Gariépy are fun, colorful, and off-beat, lending a cheeky irreverence to often difficult subjects. The text concludes with three pages of resources, broken down by topic, such as eating disorders, crisis lines, and mental health, and includes web addresses and phone numbers. No source citations or bibliography are provided. Though less valuable as an academic resource, this is a solid choice for independent reading and browsing. VERDICT Highly recommended for high school collections.—Bob Hassett

School Library Journal

2022-03-02
A sex encyclopedia by a Canadian student of sexology, translated from the French and clarifying terms related to bodies, gender, and sexuality.

The 150 alphabetical entries include factual, historical, and cultural information as well as the etymology of each word or phrase. The work provides background on topics including some that are increasingly being discussed by teens, such as rape culture and, in the entry on bras, sexist dress codes in schools. The tone is accepting of the full spectrum of gender identity and expression and reassuring about the range of what is “normal.” The short entries vary in length—some are a couple of paragraphs; most are one to two pages. Sidebars often provide links or references to additional information: Planned Parenthood’s website appears beside the entry on contraception, and later readers learn of Iceland’s Phallological Museum. Certain topics could have benefited from more detailed and precise exploration; the entry on the word gaybriefly mentions the Stonewall uprising, saying that a few men were arrested and erasing the central role of trans women of color. The broad statement that in North America until the 1970s, post–wedding night bedsheets were checked for blood to prove virginity will raise eyebrows. Attractive, lighthearted, stylized illustrations adorn the text.

A validating tome that will spark an interest in further learning. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews