How I Got Into Sex (Book Review)

Recently I have been reading a book titled How I Got Into Sex, a collection of autobiographical accounts of influential figures in the field of sex study and sex research.  Each person featured in this book has contributed something to the community, even if they weren't leading their own research projects.  This book primarily showcases the stories of those that simply became linked to the world of sex, including a criminologist who's job lead her into the deep end of the world of prostitution, as well as a sex curious clergy member.  There are plenty of autobiographies from therapists and researches, as well as those who knew they wanted to delve into the field of sex study when they began their professional and educational careers.  This book was a great read, as someone who is delving into the world of study.  Today I will be talking about the aspects of the book that I liked, such as the wide range of stories I got to read, as well as how this book helped me feel more confident in pursuing the study of human sexuality.

First of all, one of my favorite parts of this book was the diversity of the stories that it featured.  While I very much appreciated reading about those that went into research and therapy as that is the part of the field that I am hoping to pursue, it would have gotten pretty old to read dozens of stories specifically on that part of the field.  In fact, it seemed to me while reading this book that most of those that ended up as part of the sex field pretty much got there by accident, or at least they started their journey in another field, or needed to pursue another field in order to obtain a degree, for more extensive reasons that I will go into shortly.  However, as my experience is somewhat a mashup between pursuing another field and knowing way in advance that I want to study sexuality, that is another reason why getting to read this range of experiences was very beneficial to me.

While this book is somewhat outdated; it was published in 1997 and highlights the lives of those born around the 1930s, and who rose in their careers from the around the 1950s and into the 1980s; I was able to get a better understanding of the atmosphere of sex research in that time period.  There was still so much controversy revolving around the study of sex 30-60 years ago, but I believe that the sexual revolution that kicked off during the 1960s definitely helped pave the path for many of these budding scientists, researchers, and therapists.  It was also a great opportunity to get a better understanding of how many of those featured in this book went about starting their careers and how they got into the field in the first place, from their time in higher education, to the types of jobs they took in order to revolutionize the way we think about sex.  One of the biggest issues I have had with getting into the field of sex research is figuring out where to even start.  For the most part, there aren't really any classes titled "How to Study Sex" or "The Back Door Into Human Sexuality."  It's still difficult to find a decent class, let alone a program specifically on human sexuality.  What that means is that I need to get creative.  I need to study human behavior through sociology, psychology, or communication, keep an open mind, and write a lot, and I mean a lot about sex.  Which is what many in this book did, and definitely why many in this book entered into the sex field, as it appears accidentally, first pursuing other degrees, with their interests initially starting off as a hobby, and later building into a career.  While it certainly doesn't help me navigate the current state of the educational system, it does help to boost my confidence and encourage me that I am at least starting off on the correct path.  I would most certainly read a newer version of this should it come out as well, for further inspiration and reassurance that I am starting off my educational and professional career in the right way.

Honestly, I don't really have any gripes about this book.  It took me a long time to read; seriously, I think I started it in early 2016, and now we're nearly in 2019. Of course, I wasn't reading it that whole time; I kept putting it down for months at a time, and then picking it back up.  But it is a lot longer than it seems like it should be, and at times, it is very dense reading.  Thus, I am immensely pleased that I have completed it.   This is a book that I would recommend for anyone looking to jump into the field of sex study.  Not only is it great to learn about some of the different ways other's have gone about getting into the field, but it also exposes you to to the life of criticism and speculation that you are preparing yourself for.  It's a way to find out if you have the stomach for it before diving right in.  But don't forget, it's okay to skim and skip ahead, especially in this book.  Trust me, if you try to read every story, it will take you a long time!

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