2. Booknotes

Abstract

theory, which is often criticized for poor measurement and overemphasizing effects (Cohen & Weimann, 2000). Second, at times, the organization of the writing is a bit jumbled and the author seems to stray from the overarching theme of the book. For example, a large section of the book is dedicated to teaching parents how to have “the talk” with their children. Although this is related to the topic of sexuality, it had nothing to do with sexual media, and seemed that it would better fit another book completely. Third, the book had one glaring hole, as the concept of Internet pornography was never mentioned. Because first exposure to pornography often occurs during adolescence (Sabina, Wolak, & Finkelhor, 2008), it seemed like an oversight to never touch on the subject. An entire chapter could have been dedicated to scholarly findings about Internet pornography, specifically relating to adolescent consumption of pornography and ways that parents can keep their kids safe from the potential danger of explicit and dangerous pornographic content (internet filters, parent-child conversation topics, etc.). Fourth, this book would have been greatly enhanced by the inclusion of pictures. For example, the chapter entitled “The Case of the Missing Childhood” references many examples of sexualized images and messages prevalent in the media, but these are merely described and never shown. Including pictures of the advertisements, media characters, and products described would help readers understand the severity of the hypersexualization found in media that Shewmaker describes. Overall, this book can be considered a practical guide for parents in discussing sexual media with their children. It provides some scholarly support, but is better fit for personal reading than to be used as an academic teaching tool.