Coming Clean
The Terrible Truth About Sex
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
COMING CLEAN, a discussion of typical heterosexual behaviors, doesn’t pretend that masculine and feminine miscommunications should be celebrated as multicultural differences or inter-species contact. In a society obsessed with sex but fraudulent about real exploration of its vagaries, Edwards and Stephen contend that most people think sex is dirty, that sexual excitement is based on taboo, and that most of us don’t believe decent people should do that stuff. Weary of sentimental self-help books that serve warmed-over romantic clichés and rationalize neo-Victorian voyeurism, the authors gaze at the reptilian spectacle of sexual congress and the nightmare of idiotic mind games between men and women. COMING CLEAN exposes the guilt, confusion, and self-loathing that people choke back when we remember what we did last night. In the wake of the sexual revolution and the erotophobic backlash, this book dispenses with self-deceiving nonsense about romance, force-fed to us all since birth. COMING CLEAN says sex is emotional and physical TNT. It’s a minefield. It’s a mess. And it’s funny.
About the Author
Jonathan Edwards is the much removed descendant of the Puritan preacher who wrote “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He has been heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and is a contributor to IN BRIEF, a collection of essays published by Norton. He teaches workshops in creative nonfiction.
Addie Stephen is the pen name of a professor of English who teaches literature, creative writing, and women’s studies at a major university. She is the author of a number of books of literary criticism, poetry, and essays.