Sexuality, the Self, and Society

Reviewed by Emily Forsyth, Associate Professor, Minnesota State University Mankato on 12/22/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book goes into great detail in some areas and others just briefly address. Discussing anatomy there is great details more for a biology course than necessarily a sexuality course. Would like to see more that discusses homologous organs or structures as a whole with diagrams as many students do not know this information. Sex around the world has many opportunities to be expanded throughout the text - ie how certain aspects are viewed and received in different areas of the world. Contraception/Abortion/STIs is overly brief at times but still a good foundation.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall, it seems to be accurate with little bias. Can obviously tell areas that author is more passionate about by what is covered and some phrasing within the text. Sidebars have some good content but stop short where could connect to different perspectives or research related to them. Hard to determine some of the content as it doesn't seem all is cited in-text making it difficult to know what is research at times. FAS is better described as FASD now.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Some of the information is outdated, especially in Chapter 1.

Clarity rating: 5

Overall, very easy to read and material is very digestible.

Consistency rating: 4

Does a nice job staying consistent in readability but would like to see a little more consistency with what is linked and how formatted in terms of spacing, alignment, and APA.

Modularity rating: 5

Does a nice job repeats information presented elsewhere as relevant to the content being discussed in that chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I do like the overall organization of the book, especially in the fact they address Sexuality Education early rather than a mere afterthought associated lifespan sexuality. Sidebars in anatomy seem out of place unless trying to review after moving on. Sexuality is so complex but related that it's often difficult to find the perfect organization of content as one area will cover multiple future areas but only one can follow.

Interface rating: 4

Some images are grainy and not readable. Some are cited immediately with direct links to visit the sources for the images, others are cited by not linked, and some no immediate citation noted. Spacing is inconsistent in the text

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Overall nothing drastic that would keep me from using.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I don't think there is anything offensive but could use more cultural perspectives. Where they are provided could be referenced to learn more _____ area.

Comments

Overall a great starting point for a text for my purposes. All educators in this field have different areas they highlight, find important, or are relevant for their audience. The information is presented in a way that is very easy to connect to you and has some great additional resources for those utilizing it.

Reviewed by MaKenzie Johnson, Senior Lecturer, University of Wisconsin - Superior on 2/22/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book covers an extensive amount of information on sexuality and its development in ourselves and culturally. The chapters are laid out in a way that makes sense as a reader, and also has smaller subheadings to help readers find information. I also appreciated the hyperlinks throughout the text that gave additional resources. I appreciated the authors comment in the About the Book section which states this book "...is meant to be accessible, relevant, and inclusive. It also will not remain static meaning that the author will continue to update periodically and those who adopt may do so as they see fit."

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not see any areas of concern for accuracy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text has up to date information, which is essential in this topic, as research is catching up to the many years in our society where gender and sexuality was considered binary and static. I appreciated the many places in this text that addressed the history of sexuality. It was mentioned throughout the book and gave introductory information on important events, research, people, and places in history.

Clarity rating: 4

This book is for students and faculty who have basic background and knowledge in this content area. There are several introductory chapters and paragraphs that lay out some basic terminology, but I could see the content being overwhelming for a student who hasn't had any gender or sexuality classes previously. I do believe that it is written as an introductory book and could be used as that with some additional introductory information.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent with layout and language. Each chapter is laid out clearly and has the same format throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The text was easy to follow along. I especially appreciated the hyperlinked table of contents that broke down each chapter into smaller sections. This text could easily be used in full or for more specific content, certain chapters can be assigned to students for a broader knowledge on a certain topic.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I really appreciated the organization at the end of each chapter which include; glossary, discussion questions, multiple choice quiz, further exploration, and references. This was very helpful for finding further information and check for understanding on new topics for students. I could also see students using these references as additional exploration areas if they are interested in the topic.

Interface rating: 5

I see no issues with interface in this text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I see no grammatical issues with this text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text has a high level of cultural sensitivity and encompasses all facets of diversity. This information is sprinkled throughout the text and isn't just put into one chapter, like many current social sciences texts I have used.

Comments

I am very excited to have found this OER and hope to utilize it in our Introduction to Professional Counseling course.