Read My Lips

Many, if not most, people remain in the dark about the actual workings of the vagina and vulva. The primary purpose of Read My Lips is to educate women and men about the vulva and vagina in a manner that is smart, informative, and entertaining. Readers, both women and men alike, will come to think differently about women's genitals and become a little more curious and a lot more comfortable with them. They will learn more about the female body in terms of health, sex, pleasure, culture, and art. Though based on sound scientific and medical research, Read My Lips is accessible to the masses, so women and men who are curious about the clitoris, Brazilian waxing, labiaplasty, or whether the G-spot really exists, will find something of interest in these pages.

Chapters focus on sex and the vulva/vagina which, in spite of the many interesting cultural and historical aspects of vulva and vagina lore, remains of central interest to many people - as it should, given that women's genitals, and how they work, especially in regard to sex, remain a mystery to so many well-intentioned lovers. In keeping with the overall theme of celebration and education, the authors take a sex-positive, pleasure-focused perspective on women's genitals, pointing out the parts that can help women to enjoy sex and feel more comfortable in their own bodies. Tips on technique will also be shared alongside information on vaginal health.

NTRODUCTION

About the Authors
Debby Herbenick, PhD, is Associate Director and Research Scientist, Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University, the Sexual Health Educator for The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, and a widely read sex columnist for various newspapers and magazines. She is also the author of Because It Feels Good: A Woman's Guide to Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction. She has served as an expert on the vagina and vulva (and other sex topics) for The Tyra Banks Show and The Doctors and writes about sex for MySexProfessor.com, Psychology Today, WebMD and Men's Health magazine. She is also a member of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease, the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health, and the International Academy of Sex Research. As a widely cited sex expert, she has been quoted in more than 500 magazine and newspaper articles including those in The New York Times, Glamour, Marie Claire, The LA Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Cosmo (US), Cosmo (UK), Women's Health, Men's Health and SELF.

Vanessa Schick, PhD, is a social psychologist at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University. She has conducted a variety of studies on the vulva that have been published in peer reviewed journals ranging from the changes in the portrayal of the vulva in sexually explicit magazines to understanding how women's concerns about their vulva appearance impacts them in the bedroom. She has presented her work to a variety of diverse audiences ranging from the Kinsey Institute to students in the classroom to sex researchers at European Federation of Sexology conference in Rome, Italy. She is also a member of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease and the International Academy of Sex Research.

Dr. Herbenick and Dr. Schick are also two of the scientists behind the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), the largest nationally representative study of sexual behavior in the US, which surveyed individuals ages 14 to 94 about their sexual lives.