''The Joy of Gay Sex'' is a

sex manual Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

for

men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiology, epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, r ...

Charles Silverstein Charles Silverstein (born 1935) is an American writer, therapist, and gay activist. He is best known for his presentation before the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 that led to the removal of homosexuality as a mental illness from the orga ...

and

Edmund White Edmund Valentine White III (born 1940) is an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer and an essayist on literary and social topics. Since 1999 he has been a professor at Princeton University. France made him (and later ) de l'Ordr ...

. The book was first published in 1977. The original print run was for 75,000 copies. The book has been translated into French, German, Italian, Swedish, and Japanese. The 207-page book served as a how-to guide "with chapters on blowjobs, cruising and dirty talk, a gay

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...

with suggested sex positions like 'the crab' and a cultural guide with non-sexual chapters on the realities of coming out, gay politics, racism and more." It is celebrated for its sex-positive tone. In his memoir, Silverstein wrote that they wanted the book to "have a wider focus than just sex, that it should also advise the reader about life in the gay community and the majority of passages in the finished book were of a nonsexual nature." The book was partially dedicated to the writer and activist Chris Cox. Silverstein was White's therapist when the publisher offered him the job as co-writer. White says, "The need to pay my rent exceeded my need for therapy."

Sequels

The book was followed by ''The New Joy of Gay Sex'', published by Perennial in August 1993, co-authored by

Felice Picano Felice Picano (born February 22, 1944) is an American writer, publisher, and critic who has encouraged the development of gay literature in the United States. His work is documented in many sources. Life Felice Picano graduated ''cum laude'' fro ...

, and ''The Joy of Gay Sex'', fully revised and expanded third edition, published by William Morrow in January 2006, co-authored by Picano.

References

1977 in LGBT history 1977 non-fiction books 1970s LGBT literature English-language books Gay non-fiction books Sex manuals Works by Edmund White LGBT literature in the United States Collaborative non-fiction books {{LGBT-sex-book-stub

Sequels

See also

References