SILVERSTEIN, Dr. Charles and Edmund WHITE. The Joy of Gay Sex: An Intimate Guide for Gay Men to the Pleasures of a Gay Lifestyle.

(New York, NY): Crown Publishers, 1977. First edition. Hardcover. 26.6cm by 18.5cm. 239 pages. The scarce first printing of this landmark gay liberation classic. Conceived as both a practical manual and a cultural manifesto, The Joy of Gay Sex offered one of the first candid, wide-ranging, and affirming discussions of gay male sexuality published for a mainstream readership in the post-Stonewall era. Modelled in part on heterosexual lifestyle guides of the 1970s while radically departing from prevailing medicalised and moralistic representations of homosexuality, the book combines explicit sexual instruction with discussions of relationships, identity, health, social life, politics, and community. Illustrated throughout with drawings and diagrams, it became a foundational text of gay sexual culture and an emblematic publication of the broader gay liberation movement. Frequently challenged, and censored first edition, first printings are uncommon. This a very good copy in good dust jacket. The unclipped jacket with some closed tears and associated creasing.