Sex-positive nonfiction books for people who want to explore this topic

Many of the books my friends and I are reading fall fall under the ‘sex-positive’ umbrella. With that being said, it’s such a broad term.

What does sex positivity mean to you? 

These are five recommendations from us that cover the wanting, wistful and the wonderful – everything from ethics and politics of sex through to relationships in the modern age, intimacy and desire.

Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again by Katherine Angel 
Focussing on women, specifically in the age of consent, and a huge uprising of violence against women and girls, Katherine Angel urges that we remake our thinking about sex, pleasure, and autonomy without any illusions about perfect self-knowledge. How can women, in this environment, possibly know what they want? And why do we expect them to? Answers on a postcard. 

Don't Hold My Head Down by Lucy-Anne Holmes
Written by Lucy when she couldn’t find the book she wanted to read, Lucy explores the world of sex and realises everything is geared to male pleasure rather than to women's. But Lucy didn’t let that stop her – in search of “some brilliant fucking”, Lucy penned a list. “Less bucket, more fuck it”, she notes as she set out to find out what her sex life was missing.

Want by Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson (Sex Education, The X Files, etc.) has compiled a compendium of anonymous sexual fantasies of women from around the world – and included her own anonymous submission. These secret stories are full of desire, fear, intimacy, shame, satisfaction and, ultimately, liberation.
If you’re looking to revel in someone else’s fantasies, or even reconcile some of your own then these fantasies provide a window into the most secret part of our minds – and Gillian’s inviting you in.

Mating in Captivity, Esther Perel
In this book, Esther asks the hard questions – does intimacy always equal hot sex, and can we crave what we already have? Analysing sex in committed couples, Ester is determined to reconcile the erotic and the domestic and explains why democracy is a passion killer in the bedroom. She argues for playfulness, distance, and uncertainty. And shows what it takes to bring lust home.

Rough by Rachel Thompson 
To give it its full title, Rough is about how violence crept into the bedroom, and what we can do about it. Through powerful testimony from 50 women and non-binary people, this book shines a light on the sexual violence that takes place in our bedrooms and beyond, sometimes at the hands of people we know, trust, or even love. Rachel Thompson notes that it's time for a societal shift. “As individuals with agency within our sexual culture we have the power to remodel our behaviour and this book shows us how.”