Respect

Starred review from June 24, 2019
With wonderful frankness, Chavez Perez, member of the advisory council for the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society, describes the ins and outs of becoming and being a man in this instructive, comprehensive debut. In discussions on topics such as puberty, penis size, and learning how to kiss and date, he guides readers through sensitive questions, and he does so with both heterosexual and homosexual readers in mind. Drawing on his years as a sex educator, Chavez Perez does a thorough job of answering frequently asked questions and covers a wide range of issues with the tone of an older, more experienced brother willing to share his own missteps (as well as his well-sourced research). He provides straightforward, useful advice on issues including reading “no signals” from a sexual partner, how to come out of the closet, and how to make one’s first time having sex more enjoyable for both partners. For any man (or woman) with questions about sex that they were too uncomfortable to ask, Chavez Perez’s authoritative book will have the answer.