Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Human Sexuality

by William J. Taverner

This ninth edition of Taking Sides is designed to introduce students to controversies in human sexuality. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading social commentators, educators, and sexologists, reflect a variety of viewpoints and are staged as "pro" and "con" debates. Issues debated include biology, behavior and human sexuality, issues in reproduction and health, and legal and social issues.

Genres: Gender

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a look at 20 sexual issues that get attention in the modern political world, from Casual Sex to Homosexual Marriage; for each issue, there is a question posed (for instance, "Has Sex Become Too Casual?") an introductory essay setting the baselines of the arguments on the subject, a "Yes" essay, a "No" essay, and a postscript summarizing the arguments. This is a marvellous concept, and would have gotten a five-star-with-a-bullet review had the execution matched the concept. Unfortunately, two things detracted from the book's effectiveness: first, and most irritating, was the fact that many of the essays were fairly sloppily written, with numerous typos and grammatical errors. Better editing is needed to prevent a recurrence of this problem in future editions; it may be a relatively trivial thing to most readers, but textbooks should be more carefully edited than your average mass-market fantasy paperback. This one wasn't. The second problem is that on several issues, one or another of the main essays were apparently chosen as simply the best essay available on short notice, but were not really relevant to the discussion; for instance, in issue #5: "Is BDSM a Healthy Form of Sexual Expression?", the "no" essay did not at all deal with BDSM as a sexual practice; it specifically stated that it was NOT addressing the issue of individuals who chose to participate and used "safe words" and other methods of guaranteeing safety and consent. It dealt exclusively with sadistic serial killers, which really has nothing to do with the issue, and specifically admitted as much.

In future editions, if the proofreading and editing are improved and good pro and con essays are found for each topic that actually address the issue in question and give the best available argument for each side, this could be a spectacular book. As it is, it's still very good, but it was disappointing that it wasn't better.