Whole World of Lesbian Sex

Brittany Conner
Dustin Cordray
Matthew Groves
Katie Sparks
Theatre 597
The Whole Lesbian Sex Book
In the spring of 2007 Earl Adams of Bentonville, Arkansas wanted $20,000.00 from the city to cover the mental damages caused to his sons by a book they were reading in the library called The Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman. The two boys were allegedly looking for information regarding military academies. The boys were aged 14 and 16. Earl Adams explained, “My sons were greatly disturbed by viewing this material and this matter has caused many sleepless nights in our house.” (Prudenti) Because of these damages he wished to be compensated by the city of Bentonville, Arkansas.
Earl Adams also wanted the library director removed from her position. Earl Adams claimed the book is pornographic and that it is “patently offensive and lacks any artistic, literary, or scientific value.” The Bentonville library decided to take action by removing the book from the collection as requested by Earl Adams. The amount Adams demanded from the city, $20,000, would be the highest amount he could receive for each of his children because Arkansas’s obscenity laws dictate a maximum of $10,000 per victim.
There is a possibility that Adams religion also played a role in his desire to have the book removed. He was quoted saying, “God was speaking to my heart that day and helped me find the words that proved successful in removing this book from the shelf.” (Prudenti)
After receiving a letter from Adams threatening a lawsuit, the Bentonville Library advisory board held a meeting. They invited Earl Admas to attend, but he did not. They voted to determine the fate of Felice Newman’s lesbian sex book and it was unanimously decided on April 3rd that the book would be taken out of their catalog system. The board also decided that replacing the text with something more “clinical” and “sensitive” was the next step. (Prudenti)
The board also was aware that if a suitable replacement could not be agreed upon then the book would be reinstated into the library. However, according to an e-mail from Adams, “any effort to reinstate the book will be met with legal action and protests from the Christian community.”
When the two boys found the book in the library they were making use of a public forum. A public forum is a location “which by long tradition or by government fiat [has] been devoted to assembly and debate”. (Jones 4) Since the Bentonville Public Library, like all public libraries, is specifically designated a public forum then “all speech regulation must be content neutral”. (Jones 4) They were also exercising intellectual freedom principles, principles that “are embedded in the United States Constitution in the Bill of Rights (appendix A) and in the ethics and values of this country’s library profession” (Jones xi).
The complexity of the issue and its very core is obscenity. “Speech that is legally defined as obscene is unprotected speech” (Jones 40). The difference between obscenity and pornography is that pornography “describes materials depicting erotic or sexually explicit behavior, some of which may constitionally be protected”. (Jones 40) Obescenity was defined in the court case Miller v. State of California. Within this case “Justice Brennan began to work on a standard formula to be applied to contested material”. (Jones 42) The guidelines used as defense were “ ( c ) weather the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” (Jones 42) It is these words taken exactly from the Miller case that Adams uses as his reasoning behind the removal of the book. (Prudenti) However, it is interesting that Adams removed the word political when composing his e-mail. It is The Whole Lesbian Sex Book that was contested material in Bentonville and the reason the work was in the library was due to the professional reviews within The Library Journal. According to The Morning News: Local News for Northwest Arkansas, “The book is a sex guide deemed suitable for all public libraries, according to the Library Journal, which the Bentonville library uses to select materials”. (Prudenti)
An interview conducted with Lisa Fuller, the Director of Community Relations and Develop, of The Worthington Library in Columbus, Ohio proved to be a great source for basic information on library standards. Lisa explained, “In public libraries professional reviews, mainly The Library Journal and Publishers Weekly are what we base our decisions of what books go into the collection on. We try to create a collection that holds a wide representation of all views.” (Fuller) Felice Newman acknowledged the same fact in an interview stating, “Library Journal recommended The Whole Lesbian Sex Book for all collections. Many public and university libraries have ordered the book.” (Blue)
Furthermore, Lisa explained that most public libraries use a universal cataloging system that is downloaded through OCLC, or Online Computer Library Center. (Fuller) Therefore, The Whole Lesbian Sex book was in a specific section not because the Bentonville Library picked where it would place it, but because that is the way the system is designed. Moreover, because of an elaborate world cataloging system it is highly unlikely that the book was placed in a section incorrectly within books dealing with military topics. When Felice Newman was interviewed about how the boys found the book she responded, “Perhaps the book ended up in the military section because the boys hid it there. Or perhaps, having found the book in its proper section, the boys were reading it in the military section, where they had told their father they would be researching military academies. Someone catches them smack in the middle of the fist-fucking chapter and they make up the story as an alibi.” (Blue) She is clearly lighthearted about the matter and believes the boys to be curious and their father is perhaps the ashamed one.
Moreover, libraries follow a Library Bill of Rights adapted by the American Library Association. The Bentonville Library was following this code of conduct. The Library Bill of Rights specifically states “Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues”. (ALA) Furthermore, The Library Bill of Rights states “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment”. (ALA) Additionally, The Library Bill of Rights indicates that “A persons right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.” Therefore, the librarians do not monitor the ages of the individuals within the library at all. No matter how young a patron is they have the right to look at any material offered by that particular library. Essentiallly it is up to the parent to monitor the material their child checks out or views in the library because nobody is going to do as such.
Felice Newman is the author of the controversial book: The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us. She is a somatic coach, a sex educator, and a well-known author. She has published more than 200 books dealing with sex and is the co-founder of the Cleis Press. She founded the Cleis Press with Frederique Delacoste in 1980. The Cleis Press develops and edits sex books by many well-known sex authors. These authors include Susie Bright, Tristn Taormino, Violet Blue, Patrick Califia, and Annie Sprinkle. She has also given sex advice online on well-known websites such as About.com, ClassicDykes.com, and LesbianNation.com. Along with those websites, she also has her own website (www.felicenewman.com).
Felice Newman has received her somatic coaching certificate from the Strozzi Institute in Peteluma, California. She studied human sexuality through San Francisco Sex Information and also the body Electric School. She also is a member of the AASECT (American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists). The AASECT is a non-profit, interdisciplinary professional organization, which promotes an understanding of human sexuality and healthy sexual behavior. (felicenewman.com)
She now lives with her wife, Constance Clare-Newman, in the San Francisco bay area. She says her purpose is to help people have the best sex lives as possible. She also works with individuals and couples to help satisfy her purpose in life. She now has workshops that you can attend and counseling.
In one of her interviews for the controversial book: The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us, she was asked, “What’s your reaction to the flap about your book in Arkansas?” Her response was that if the libraries took all the sex books off the shelves, where would kids learn about sex? She thinks teenagers can learn from these types of books in libraries because you can’t find the information or get access to it anywhere else because of their age. She thinks that finding this type of information is safer to find in a library than on the Internet. She also says that her book is sexually explicit because she wanted a lesbian sex book that was “sexy”. You can’t control what teenagers learn or see about sex, but she does think that the library is a place that would be least dangerous for teenagers to read or learn about sex. (felicenwnewman.com)
She was then asked if she has seen a spike in sales because of it getting so much publicity. She answered by saying that the book was already doing well. The spike came when the book was featured on The L Word. The L Word is a television drama series that shows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women. She said that she could see some parents, even lesbian parents, not wanting their children reading her book. But there is only so much you can censor from a child. She goes on to say that you can’t control what teenagers see about sex. Teenagers are going to see and hear sexual things throughout their lives. You can have conversations with them about sex and answer any questions they my have. To quote a statement from her… she says, “Let’s face it, the library is the least objectionable place a kid could go for basic sex info, as far as parents are concerned.” (felicenewman.com)
The title of the controversial paperback itself, The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide For All of Us, encapsulates the very nature of this work. In the introduction, Felice Newman herself deliberately spells out that
“The Whole Lesbian Sex Book is a comprehensive, nonjudgemental guide to lesbian sex- this book won’t tell you who you should be or what you should think. You’ll find detailed how-to information on sexual techniques, understanding your own sexual responses, how to have G-spot orgasms, multiple orgasms, and extended orgasms- and much, much more (xiv, xv).”
She also points out that her reason for writing the book is “so that you would have ample information and encouragement for creating the sex life of your dreams (xiv).”
The Whole Lesbian Sex Book covers almost every imaginable area of a woman’s sexuality. The topics range from anatomy, sexual response, and orgasm (19-44) to learning about ones own body, being familiar with oneself, and appreciating oneself for who one is and accepting and loving what one looks like (49). It covers how to’s of several ways to have sex such as oral (115-130), vaginal (131-148), and anal (149-163). It teaches methods of safe sex for lesbians including how to make a dental dam, as well as what a dental dam is (56-57). This includes illustrations, which are a helpful part of the guide and could be crucial to ensuring safer sex practices are done correctly. This book also covers issues particularly difficult for the gay and lesbian community such as how to ask someone of the same sex out on a date or now to make a sexual advance to someone of the same sex (85).
Having public access to this guidebook could be very beneficial for lesbian, bisexual, or bicurious women. To explain why, one can look to Cass’s Model of Homosexual Identity Formation (1984). This model shows how individuals who are not heterosexual come to realize their non-heterosexual identity. This is a six-stage process including Identity Confusion, Identity Comparison, Identity Tolerance, Identity Acceptance, Identity Price and Identity Synthesis. The first two stages are the most important for this topic, as they are the “research” stages. In Identity Confusion, one starts to wonder if one is homosexual. He or she considers the possibility or rejects it. If he or she does not reject it, then he or she will move on to the next stage. Stage two is Identity Comparison. This is where the individual will start to look at others and compare themselves to people of various sexual orientations (Hock, 425).
Having access to The Whole Lesbian Sex Book during these stages could help immensely with questions that are not accepted in the general, heterosexual, public. Even if a woman reaches the point of Identity Synthesis, which is a positive view of being a non-heterosexual and feeling settled in to their identity Hock, 425), she might have questions about how to please her partner or about different sexual acts. This guidebook focuses on “sex shared between women” (Newman, 2), and the book is “filled with information, suggestions, tips, and techniques tot help you discover a sexuality that works for you (Newman, 2).” However, lesbian sex is a very controversial topic, especially among Christians in America.
The town of Bentonville and the demographics of the town explain a great deal about the perspective of Earl Adams. Located in the Bible Belt, Bentonville is home to the Wal-Mart headquarters and “The Whistler group, a major US manufacturer of radar detectors”. Additionally, the town holds a 90% Caucasian population and of those 90% the mass majority identify as Protestants. (Wikipedia)
The topic of gay rights and homosexuality has been subjected to ridicule and controversy and none have apposed with such polarizing and boisterous views as the Christian community. The debate of right and wrong has spilled over into a fight of perceived morality. Both sides have been adamant in their views, which have left the debate to personal opinion. The book “The Whole Book of Lesbian Sex” was the topic of heated debate in Arkansas, and has spilled over into the entire nation. While both sides have allowed their views to be well known only one position is fixated on the positive of harmony and the ability for change, censorship in this case was without case and based in bigotry. The book being removed from the library was the issue; it became cloudy by religious debate over the morality of lesbianism.
The gay communities viewpoint on this subject is just that. They are not promoting homosexuality; they are not trying to coerce anyone to ‘convert’, they are simply saying, equality for all. “After all, America is not a Christian nation anymore than it is a homosexual nation or a Hispanic nation. It is instead a diverse nation of multitudes, and our public libraries, if they are to have any relevance, must reflect that. (Emil Steiner) Recognizing that the country is diverse is something libraries must do in order to provide adequate materials for the public, after all tax dollars from every demographic pay for the libraries existence. In the end, the city of Bentonville did not award money to Earl Adams. The book has sense been placed back on the shelves and back in the Bentonville Public Libraries online catalog system (Prudenti).
The two young boys, probably without even knowing it, were part of a First Amendment exercise. By writing her book Felice Newman was exercising free speech and the boys were simply interested in her point of view and the information she had to offer. Whether or not they were ready for that information is highly debatable. The beauty of the public library is that it affords everyone no matter their age, income, sexuality, religion, or race the right to knowledge and if they desire a specific kind of knowledge then so be it.


ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Library Association (ALA). 2008; Available from: www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.htm via the INTERNET. Accessed 2008 February.
This source was used in order to reference The Library Bill of Rights which public libraries adhere to. This Bill of Rights is the reasoning behind Felice Newman’s book being made available in the library. It is library policy to avoid censurship and broadly represent the community, its readership.
Belge, Kathy. “Felice Newman Responds – Lesbian Sex Book Author Reacts to Dad’s Claims.” Your Guide to Lesbian Life. 2008. About.com. Availble from; http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbiansex/a/FeliceResponds.htm via the INTERNET. Accessed 2008 February.
This article was key to discovering Felice Newman’s reaction to the dad’s claims about her book and his kids. The website was pivotal for including a certain point of view within the paper and equally representing two sides of an argument.
Emil Stiener. The Washington Post. 2007; Available from: blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/2007/04/arkansas_dad_sues_library_over_1.html via the INTERNET. Accessed 2008 March 1.
This is a news article from The Washington Post. It expressed valuable facts and opinions for the research paper, including a unique perspective on the state of the world as a reasoning for the father’s discrepancy with the book.
Fuller, Lisa. Telephone Interview. 5 February 2008.
The Whole Lesbian Sex Book was checked out at The Worthington Library by our group. Lisa’s business card was given to a group member so that they could gain more information on the process of instating books into the library. This source also led to the discovery of the American Library Association website.
Richard Dean Prudenti. The Morning News: Local News for Northwest Arkansas. 2007; Available from: nwaonline.net/articles/2007/04/19/news/042007bzsuterfolo.txt via the INTERNET. Accessed 2008 March.
Since this was a news source from Arkansas it was pivotal to the details included with the paper. More information was given within this article regarding people’s names and specifics than any other more mainstream articles.
Newman, Felice. The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide For us All. San Francisco: Cleis Press, 1999.
This is the book on which the Arkansas controversy is based. It is a comprehensive guide for lesbian sex, lesbian culture, and sexual health.
Hock, Roger R. Human Sexuality. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.
This is the text book for Psychology 333.02 (Psychology of Human Sexuality) at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The references were taken from chapter 11 on sexual orientation. This is a reliable resource because it is a text book at a major university and the entire curriculum is based on this text. This book is much like Newman’s Whole Lesbian Sex Book in terms of an educational and practical look at sexuality.
Jones, Barbara M. Libraries, Access, and Intellectual Freedom. Chicago and London: American Library Association, 1999.
This source is used to justify libraries and librarians for their decisions to act as a foundation for intellectual freedom. The validity of this source is extensive due to its inclusion of facts on public forums, obscenity, and the right of libraries and individuals. This source is used to justify the Bentonville court ruling and also explain the reasoning behind placing Felice Newman’s The Whole Lesbian Sex Book within a library.
Newman, Felice. Personal website. 2007, Available from; http://www.felicenewman.com/about.html via the INTERNET. Accessed 2008 February.
This website has a tremendous amount of information about Felice Newman and is her own website, which guarantees its accuracy. Through this website investigation about the professional as well as her personal life of Felice Newman was able to be undertaken. Learning more about the author allowed for greater research regarding her purpose for writing the book and the value of the book’s place at a public library as a guidebook for sexuality questions.
Violet Blue. SFGate: Home of the San Francisco Chronical . 2007; Available from: sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/05/03/violetblue.DTL via the INTERNET. Accessed March 2008.
This source was used because of the personal interview included with Felice Newman, which revealed her perspective on the Bentonville, Arkansas incident.
Wikipedia. 2008. Available from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonville,_Arkansas via the INTERNET. Accessed February 2008.
This source was used to find concise information about the population of the town of Bentonville.