When I initially wrote Carnal Knowledge, I knew this list would be eternally growing and changing, and even in the last year since I wrote the book, I have learned of so many resources I wish I had included in the print book. So, please continue to watch this space, it is a living list that I will continue to add to!
BOOKS
Anatomy:
-The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves (Atria Books, 2011, revised ed).
-Jansen, Carlyle. Anal Sex Basics: The Beginner’s Guide to Maximizing Anal Pleasure for Every Body (Quiver Books, 2016).
-Sundahl, Deborah. Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot (Hunter House, 2014, 2nd ed).
-Taormino, Tristan. The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women (Cleis Press, 2006, 2nd ed).
-Winston, Sheri. Women’s Anatomy of Arousal: Secret Maps to Buried Pleasure (Mango Garden Press, 2010).
BDSM:
-Easton, Dossie and Hardy, Janet. The New Bottoming Book (Greenery Press, 2001).
-Easton, Dossie and Hardy, Janet. The New Topping Book (Greenery Press, 2003).
-Harrington, Lee and Williams, Mollena. Playing Well with Others: Your Field Guide to Discovering, Navigating and Exploring the Kink, Leather and BDSM Communities (Greenery Press, 2012).
-Midori. The Seductive Art of Japanese Rope Bondage (Greenery Press, 2002).
-Taormino, Tristan. The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge (Cleis Press, 2012).
Body Image/Self-Love:
-Chase, Elle. Curvy Girl Sex: 101 Body-Positive Positions to Empower Your Sex Life (Fair Winds Press, 2017).
-Dodson, Betty, PhD. Sex for One: The Joy of Selfloving (Random House Value Publications, 1996).
-Rees, Anuschka. Beyond Beautiful: A Practical Guide to Being Happy, Confident, and You in a Looks-Obsessed World (Ten Speed Press, 2019).
-Taylor, Sonya Renee. The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018).
LGBTQ+:
-Bongiovanni, Archie and Jimerson, Tristan. A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns (Oni Press, 2018).
-Bornstein, Kate. My New Gender Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity (Routledge, 2013).
-Brown, Leighton and Riemer, Matthew. We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation (Ten Speed Press, 2019).
-Lester, CN. Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us (Seal Press, 2018).
-Mac, Amos and Kayiatos, Rocco, Eds. Original Plumbing: The Best of Ten Years of Trans Male Culture (The Feminist Press, 2019).
-Violet, Mia. Yes, You Are Trans Enough: My Transition from Self-Loathing to Self-Love (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018).
Pleasure:
-Blue, Violet. The Ultimate Guide to Cunnilingus: How to Go Down on a Woman and Give Her Exquisite Pleasure (Cleis Press, 2010, 2nd ed).
-Chia, Mantak and Abrams, Douglas. The Multi-Orgasmic Man: Sexual Secrets Every Man Should Know (HarperCollins, 1996).
– Chia, Mantak; Chia, Maneewan; Abrams, Douglas; Abrams, Rachel Carlton, M.D. The Multi-Orgasmic Couple: Sexual Secrets Every Man Should Know (HarperOne, 2002).
-Joannides, Paul, Psy.D. Guide to Getting it On: Unzipped (Goofy Foor Press, 2017, 9th ed).
-Newman, Felice. The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us (Cleis Press, 2004).
-Price, Joan. The Ultimate Guide to Sex After 50: How to Maintain—or Regain—A Spicy, Satisfying Sex Life (Cleis Press, 2015).
-Solot, Dorian and Miller, Marshall. I Love Female Orgasm: An Extraordinary Orgasm Guide (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2007).
Relationships:
-Beardon, Luke, PhD and Worton, Dean, Eds. Love, Partnership, or Singleton on the Autism Spectrum (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017).
-Block, Jenny. Open: Love, Sex, and Life In an Open Marriage (Seal Press, 2008).
-Hardy, Janet W. and Easton, Dossie. The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love (Ten Speed Press, 2017).
-Labriola, Kathy. The Jealousy Workbook: Exercises and Insights for Managing Open Relationships (Greenery Press, 2013).
-Michaels, Mark A. and Johnson, Patricia. Designer Relationships: A Guide to Happy Monogamy, Positive Polyamory, and Optimistic Open Relationships (Cleis Press, 2015).
-Miller, John. Decoding Dating: A Guide to the Unwritten Social Rules of Dating for Men with Asperger Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2014).
-Patterson, Kevin. Love’s Not Color Blind: Race and Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities (Thorntree Press, 2018).
-Roche, Juno. Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to Intimacy, Pleasure and Relationships (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018).
-Ryan, Christopher and Jethá, Cacilda. Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality (Harper, 2010).
-Taormino, Tristan. Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships (Cleis Press, 2008).
Sex Work:
-Aimee, Rachel (Editor); Kaiser, Eliyanna (Editor); Ray, Audacia (Editor). $pread: The Best of the Magazine That Illuminated the Sex Industry and Started a Media Revolution (Feminist Press, 1970).
-Davina, Lola. Thriving in Sex Work: Heartfelt Advice for Staying Sane in the Sex Industry (Erotic as Power Press, 2017).
-Grant, Melissa Gira. Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work (Verso, 2014).
-Taormino, Tristan; Penley, Constance; Shimizu, Celine Parrenas; and Miller-Young, Mireille. The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure (Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2013).
Trauma:
-Brach, Tara. Radical Acceptance: Awakening the Love that Heals Fear and Shame (Ebury Publishing, 2012).
-Haines, Staci. Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma (Cleis Press, 2nd ed., 2017).
-Haines, Steve. Trauma Is Really Strange (Singing Dragon, 2015).
-van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score (Penguin Books Limited, 2014).
Racial Justice:
-Brown, Adrienne Maree. Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good (AK Press, 2019).
-Brown, Adrienne Maree. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (AK Press, 2017).
-Carruthers, Charlene A. Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements (Beacon Press, 2018).
-Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde (Penguin Classics, 2020).
-Patterson, Kevin. Love’s Not Color Blind: Race and Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities (Thorntree Press, 2018).
Other:
-Coady, Deborah and Fish, Nancy. Healing Painful Sex: A Woman’s Guide to Confronting, Diagnosing, and Treating Sexual Pain (Seal Press, 2011).
-Cook, Barb and Garnett, Michelle, M.D. Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018).
-Kaufman, Miriam, M.D.; Silverberg, Cory; and Odette, Fran. The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability: For All of Us Who Live with Disabilities, Chronic Pain, and Illness (Cleis Press, 2007).
-Price, Joan. Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud About Senior Sex (Seal Press, 2011).
–Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi. Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018).
ORGANIZATIONS AND WEBSITES
Many of these websites fall under multiple categories, so take a peek at the entire list!
Getting Help:
-Childhelp: childhelp.org
-Hope Network: hopenetwork.org
-Darkness to Light: https://www.d2l.org/
-International Trauma-Healing Institute: traumainstitute.org
-Kempe: kempe.org
-Savvy Parents Safe Kids: http://savvyparentssafekids.com/
-Male Survivor: malesurvivor.org
-National Domestic Violence Hotline: thehotline.org
-National Organization for Victim Assistance: trynova.org
-National Sexual Assault Hotline: rainn.org
-National Sexual Violence Resource Center: nsvrc.org
-National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: suicidepreventionlifeline.org
-Trans Lifeline: translifeline.org
LGBTQ+:
-Deaf Queer Resource Center: deafqueer.org
-GLAAD: glaad.org
-Intersex Society of North America: isna.org
-Lambda Legal: lambdalegal.org
-National Center for Transgender Equality: transequality.org
-PFLAG: pflag.org
-The Trevor Project: thetrevorproject.org
-The Okra Project: https://www.theokraproject.com/
Mental Health:
-Community Health Centers: findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov
-Mental Health America: mhanational.org
-MindOut Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Mental Health Service: mindout.org.uk
-National Alliance of Mental Illness: nami.org
Reproductive Justice:
-National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org
-Planned Parenthood: plannedparenthood.org
-SisterSong: sistersong.net
-West Fund: Abortions Without Borders: westfund.org
-Bedsider: https://www.bedsider.org/
Sex Education:
-Afrosexology: http://www.afrosexology.com/
-The Center for Sexual Pleasure & Health: thecsph.org
-Advocates for Youth: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/
–Sexuality Information & Education Council of the United States (SIECUS): https://siecus.org/
-Kids Need to Know: https://www.kidsneedtoknow.org/
-Autism Sex Education: https://www.autismsexeducation.com/
-LiveAbout: sexuality.about.com
-Scarleteen: scarleteen.com
-Sex, etc.: sexetc.org
-Women of Color Sexual Health Network: wocshn.org
-Sex Positive Families: https://sexpositivefamilies.com/category/sex-positive-parenting/
Sex Work:
-Adult Performer Advocacy Committee: apac-usa.com
-National Ugly Mugs: uglymugs.org/um
-Pineapple Support: pineapplesupport.com
-Red Umbrella Fund: redumbrellafund.org
-Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP; has local/state chapters): swopusa.org
-Decriminalize Sex Work: https://decriminalizesex.work/
STIs:
-The Body: thebody.com
-Harm Reduction Coalition: harmreduction.org
-The STI Project: thestiproject.com
-Terence Higgins Trust: tht.org.uk
-Condom Finder: http://www.condomfinder.org/
Other:
-The Endometriosis Association: endometriosisassn.org
-The International Pelvic Pain Society: pelvicpain.org
-International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease: issvd.org
-Open Society Foundations: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/
Recommended Readings
