Cindy Pierce - Sexploitation: Helping Kids Develop Healthy Sexuality in a Porn-Driven World

Praise for
SEXPLOITATION
and
CINDY PIERCE

Cindy Pierces new book, Sexploitation, is a comprehensive, wise, and sometimes alarming look at the culture of porn that surrounds our kids. Pierce is a straight-talker on the subject of sex; she is also a compelling writer and she makes a strong case that parents have to be brave and talk to their kids before the Internet introduces them to sexuality. Her book will help parents to find that courage.

Michael Thompson, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

For every parent whos ever panicked about having the talk with their child, Cindy Pierce has created a frank, honest resource to helpand more importantly, a reminder that this isnt a talk at all but rather a conversation that evolves as our boys and girls become responsible, sexually active young men and women.

Jodi Picoult, New York Times best-selling author of Nineteen Minutes and My Sisters Keeper

As parents, we wish our kids will grow up to have happy, healthy sex lives. Just wishing wont help. We need to talk with them, otherwise their sex education will come from popular culture and the Internet. Whether we like it or not, all teens, even preteens have to confront pornography. Cindys book will help parents find our voices to discuss challenging topics that werent part of our own growing up.

Dr. Michael L. Lyons MD, assistant clinical professor of community and family medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College

Heres a guide to having meaningful conversations on the other side of awkward with our teenagers so that these young people we love so much might be safer and happier. Who doesnt need that?

Kelly Corrigan, New York Times best-selling author of Glitter and Glue, Lift, and The Middle Place

Sexploitation: Helping Kids Develop Healthy Sexuality in a Porn-Driven World is a phenomenal resource to help us guide our children in developing healthy sexual and social relationships within themselves and with others. Cindy is raw, real, and fantastic. Her approach will leave you educated and empoweredready to have comfortable, adult conversations with your children.

Stacy Nadeau, professional speaker, coach, and Dove model

Cindy Pierces Sexploitation is a searing analysis of how hypersexualized messages in pop culture harm our childrens emotional lives. She weaves her experiences together with the stories of others, compelling data, and expert opinions to offer practical advice for developing healthy social and sexual relationships. This book is a must-read for parents who are concerned about their childrens happiness in a society saturated with social media and porn.

Caroline Heldman, associate professor of politics, Occidental College

Cindy Pierce takes direct aim at the place where the tsunami of our culture and the heart of our humanity intersect. Her straight talk on the importance of having conversations with our teens about how to manage the bombardment of messages from the mass media while defining their own inner compass is a helpful guide for families.

Julie Metzger, RN, MN, cofounder, Great Conversations www.greatconversations.com

CINDY PIERCE

To my husband, Bruce Lingelbach. Thank you for your belief in this message and your unending support.

To our children, Zander, Sadie, and Colter.

You make us laugh and light up our lives.

I love you all.

I am often called upon to talk to graduate students who are studying to become sexuality educators. Their questions capture both the anxiety and the giddiness that come with the prospect of entering their own classroom. A question they always ask me is, How do you deal with negative reactions from parents who might take exception to what youre teaching their kids? My answer always surprises them: I dont get negative reactions from parents. In fact, in the twenty-five-plus years Ive been a classroom sexuality educator, I can count on one hand the negative parental reactions Ive gotten. The reason is quite simple. I treat parents as allies and not as adversaries, as partners and not as problems.

The prospective teachers sometimes need a minute to process that statement. I can understand why. We seldom see news stories about parents who are delighted with their childrens teachers. Adversarial relationships make for better TV or blog posts in our if it bleeds, it leads media philosophy. But theres absolutely no reason that parents and teachers should be at oddsespecially when it comes to something as important as sexuality education.

Kids today are immersed in a society that isnt all that interested in their sexual health. (It isnt much interested in our sexual health, either.) Its easy to see this if you sample the advertisements popping up on our kids Facebook pages, the YouTube videos theyre streaming on their cell phones and tablets, and the sexually explicit and/or pornographic material they encounter, intentionally or otherwise. The message theyre getting from these sources isnt Love yourself as you are! Its much more likely to be: Are you _____ enough? If youre not, we can fix that! (Fill in the blank with thin, sexy, pretty, strong, hung, hard, etc.)

I firmly believe that parents are, and should be, the primary sexuality educators of their children. I believe just as strongly that they cant, and shouldnt be, the only sexuality educators of their children. It truly does take a village to raise a sexually healthy kid. When educators partner with parents, we can address more of our kids needs more effectively.

Parents also need our help. I went into sexuality education, in part, because I have the ability to think about and talk about issues that many other people find daunting. Becoming parents does not automatically endow individuals with the ability to talk with their kids about healthy sexuality. Some parents do have this abilityand thats terrificbut many dont, and they arent sure where to begin. Being an advocate to parents as they embark on the vital work of raising sexually healthy kids means helping them learn not just what to say, but when and how to say itand what