Review by Booklist Review
This inclusive and comprehensive guide to disability-friendly sex education opens with the idea that "disabled people have sex," dispelling the commonly held myth that they are nonsexual. Andrews addresses readers directly as a queer, paraplegic cartoonist, utilizing colorful illustrations and conversational dialogue to introduce ways of talking about and having more enjoyable sex. Their inclusive cartoons are in sync with the educational content, illustrating a wide range of bodies and disabilities--of people at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities--engaged in physical and emotional intimacy. While the beginning takes care to include chronic illness, neurodivergence, intellectual disabilities, and mental illness, the bulk of advice seems focused on physical disabilities--both visible and invisible. A friendly, if educational, tone guides readers through safe sex, consent, pleasure, recovering from sexual violence and trauma, body image, communication, self-care, accessibility, and sex toys and equipment, plus interactive guides to help readers practice the concepts. An important resource for both disabled people and allies that bridges gaps left in traditional sex education.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Andrews, a web cartoonist and "totally complete, incomplete paraplegic," makes their print debut with this upbeat and informative graphic guidebook. Designed to assist both disabled persons and their partners, the guide, with Andrews as its narrator, coaches readers through basic and intermediate tips on improving sex lives for those with disabilities, conveyed invitingly through bright cartoons reminiscent of Lane Smith's, which depict a wealth of different and non-normative body types. Though the spatial limitations and aims of the "quick and easy" structure inevitably lead to oversimplifications (the half-page primer on gender and sexuality spectra theory, for instance), Andrews dives in with a frank and enthusiastic tone ("let's talk spasticity!) and wields the slim page count efficiently with canny, appropriately explicit visuals, such as when laying out a variety of ways to use furniture to make sex more physically comfortable. Sections on handling incontinence during intercourse and the need for communication with personal care attendants and asides educating nondisabled readers on ableist microaggressions are particularly well-done--though Andrews lingers longer than needed on well-trodden topics like communication and sex toys. This is a valuable resource for readers seeking to make pleasure accessible. (May)
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