Where can I find old guides on how to talk to your kids about sex?

September 18, 2007 2:17 PM

Where can I find 1950s and 1960s guides on how to talk to your kids about sex? I know they're out there, but library searches and amazon searches are only turning up newer books.
posted by bflora to Human Relations (11 answers total)

Miss Abigail's Time Warp Advice has a bibliography page.

Author Lynn Peril's LibraryThing has a list of advice books. (I hope it isn't creepy to link to one person's librarything, but she has a good collection!) Her book Pink Think is great, too.

If you meant where to physically find them, try the thrift store.
posted by lemuria at 2:31 PM on September 18, 2007

Biblio
posted by philad at 2:41 PM on September 18, 2007

To expand on my previous comment - use the "date published" filter on the advanced search page - that might help.
posted by philad at 2:43 PM on September 18, 2007

The Journal of Social Hygiene and the publications of the American Social Hygiene Association are great places to start.
Many libraries have old ASHA pamplhets, including gems like "Boy Meets Girl in Wartime." The Journal of Social Hygiene is available, in full, online through Cornell. I do not know how to add a link to this post. It is one of the first hits on google.
posted by vincele at 2:56 PM on September 18, 2007

Not really want you want probably, but I have seen some hilarious videos on the Internet Archive's Movie database.

I used the key words: sex children talk and got this little lot.
posted by chairish at 3:13 PM on September 18, 2007

This one is from the 1940s:

Sex Guidance in Family Life Education
posted by MsMolly at 3:18 PM on September 18, 2007

This is a bit of a long shot, but cast about for the sex guide edition of the 'zine Murder Can Be Fun (called "Anti-sex tips for teens"). It's got about 30 different '50s and '60s guides listed in there, all critiqued. John Marr, the guy who wrote it, was really funny and dead-on.

Unfortunately, everywhere I see online has it listed as Out of Stock.
posted by klangklangston at 4:12 PM on September 18, 2007

Google Books advanced search is your friend.
posted by beagle at 5:38 PM on September 18, 2007

i have one that i was going to put in the yard sale this weekend. if you want it, drop me a note to my email addy and ill send it to you. its brought me joy, but im out of space!
posted by fillsthepews at 6:44 PM on September 18, 2007

Abebooks advanced search: Keywords "sex guide": Dates 1950-1969

930 results
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:58 PM on September 18, 2007

If I were in your position I would look for modern books written about prescriptive literature (the genre you're studing, if you were unaware of the technical term for it) Check the source lists of the modern books and start mining from there.
posted by JFitzpatrick at 12:50 AM on September 19, 2007