Sex and Sexuality

Risk and Relationships in the Age of AIDS

Following her study of a group of college students - a community likely to experiment sexually - Dana Lear has written a timely and persuasive book which considers how sexual communication does and does not occur among young adults, how gender and sexual orientation influence the ability to negotiate safer sex, and what barriers to open communication still exist.

Lear presents a number of provocative and telling excerpts from the interviews which were a part of her study. These accounts portray the attitudes toward risk, casual relationships, trust and the negotiation of sexuality that are at issue today. Finally, Lear considers her findings in terms of normative influences as well as possible policy implications.