Sexuality: A Graphic Guide

Barker and Scheele (Queer: A Graphic History) team up again for an illustrated explainer that aims to deconstruct Western myths that cast heteronormative, monogamous sex as morally superior. Closer to a sexual philosophy text than sex ed guide, it asks the reader to discard the binary of normal/abnormal sex and replace it with a model of “benign sexual diversity and a focus on pleasure and consent.” The volume ends with a call to expand erotic imaginations and recognize that solo sex, erotic art and fiction, kink, and asexuality, among other categories, are valid and valuable in their own right. The art introduces a set of reoccurring characters, tongue-in-cheek references to the Scooby-Doo gang, who journey through a haunted house confronting and unmasking the villains: patriarchy, white supremacy, ableism, and capitalism personified. Along the way, the gang encounter the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and revelations such as “if everyone’s body... change[s] over their lives, then sex will be unique every time.” The text is peppered with quotes (from Freud and Kinsey to bell hooks and Adrienne Maree Brown) and additional pop culture references, from Brokeback Mountain to Fifty Shades of Grey. The sum: accessible, compassionate reading for readers wanting to think more deeply about sex, society, and how they intersect. [em](June) [/em]