Farrah Khan
Educator and sexual violence support worker. Feminist troublemaker. Manager @ConsentComes1st, Director @possibilityseed and Co-Founder @femifesto
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Farrah Khan
“The book that I cannot stop recommending, despite a cover that belies how great it is, is Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma by Staci Haines. You can read it on your own or with a partner. Everyone has a right to pleasure. https://t.co/Y79486oOqw” (from X)
The first encouraging, sex-positive guide for all women survivors of sexual assault -- heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, coupled, and single -- who want to reclaim their sex lives. While most books on the topic broach sexuality only to reassure women that it is all right to say "no" to unwanted sex, Healing Sex encourages women to learn how to say "yes" -- to their own desires and on their own terms. This mind-body approach to healing from sexual trauma was created by Staci Haines, who has been educating in the area of sexual abuse, sex education, and somatic healing for over 15 years. Her techniques are ideal for anyone looking for a new way to heal from trauma, beyond traditional talk therapy.
Recommended by Farrah Khan
“"To make real change we need to tackle something larger and more systemic: the pervasive culture that urges boys toward disrespect and detachment in their intimate encounters." Great op-ed by @peggyorenstein about her new book Boys and Sex. https://t.co/LFyc2QrNOP” (from X)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now in paperback—Peggy Orenstein, author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller Girls & Sex, turns her focus to the sexual lives of young men. “Eye-opening…. Every few pages, the boy world cracks open a little bit…. Even in the most anxiety-provoking moments of Boys & Sex, it’s clear that Orenstein believes in the goodness of boys and the men they can become, and she believes in us, as parents, to raise them” (New York Times Book Review). Peggy Orenstein’s Girls & Sex broke ground, shattered taboos, and launched conversations about young women’s right to pleasure and agency in sexual encounters. It also had an unexpected effect on its author: Orenstein realized that talking about girls is only half the conversation. Boys are subject to the same cultural forces as girls—steeped in the same distorted media images and binary stereotypes of female sexiness and toxic masculinity—which equally affect how they navigate sexual and emotional relationships. In Boys & Sex, Peggy Orenstein dives back into the lives of young people to once again give voice to the unspoken, revealing how young men understand and negotiate the new rules of physical and emotional intimacy. Drawing on comprehensive interviews with young men, psychologists, academics, and experts in the field, Boys & Sex dissects so-called locker room talk; how the word “hilarious” robs boys of empathy; pornography as the new sex education; boys’ understanding of hookup culture and consent; and their experience as both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. By surfacing young men’s experience in all its complexity, Orenstein is able to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of young male sexuality in today’s world. The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting work that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as better men.

