American Medical Association Backs Teen Sex Guides

America's largest organization of physicians, the American Medical Association, is offering teenagers new guides that give explicit advice on sex.

In two new books "Girl's Guide to Becoming a Teen" and "Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen," the AMA tells kids that masturbation is healthy, that penis size doesn't matter, that gay sex is normal and oral sex is really sex.

The AMA spells out advice to help youths prepare for the key teen transition years bridging childhood to adulthood.

The controversial soft-cover AMA books, priced at $12.95, are available at bookstores and through the AMA's Web site.

"This comprehensive, reliable guide to a topic both parents and teachers sometimes have difficulty discussing with children, is presented in a simple, easy-to-read format with fun two-color layout and illustrations," the AMA says of the books.

The New York Post reports that the medical organization has no plans to market the books to school systems.

Among the books' chapter headings are such titles as "Welcome to Puberty," "Your Reproductive System - Inside and Out," "Erections, Wet Dreams and Masturbation" and "What About Sex," while other chapters deal with health, hygiene, dieting, feelings, and relationships. The books reassure teenaged girls that they should not be worried about their bodily features including their height, weight, facial acne and sexual organs.

"It's easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other girls," the authors say in the "Girl's Guide," adding, "nobody has a perfect body, or face, or hair." The guide discusses girls' breasts: "It's best to accept your breasts the way they are, even if you think they are too small or too big or you don't like the shape. Keep in mind that the size and shape of your breasts have nothing to do with their function," the AMA guide says.

Other advice given teens includes:
Boys needn't be ashamed of the size of their penis. "It's important to know that size has nothing to do with how your penis functions," the authors said.
Masturbation is OK as long as it's done privately and doesn't become an obsession.

"Masturbation is a normal, healthy way to explore your sexual feelings," the boy's book reveals, but don't "masturbate so much that you don't have time for other things, like spending time with your friends, or enjoying your hobbies."

There's nothing unusual about being attracted to someone of the same sex. "People can be attracted to different people at different times in their life. You may find that you're only interested in boys, only interested in girls, or somewhere in between," the authors claim.

And the book even has a little advice for former President Bill Clinton. During his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, Clinton claimed that oral sex was really not sex.

"Believe it or not, oral sex is really sex," the AMA book states bluntly.

Without explaining what his organization has to do with the sex lives of teens aside from the medical aspects, the AMA's president, J. Edward Hill, M.D., said "These books are tremendous resources for preteens and parents of preteens who are looking for reliable medical information to help their children through puberty."

Last year Hill expressed his and the AMA's opposition to the administration's abstinence only education policy.

The medical organization has veered into other controversial social issues as well. In recent years, the AMA has become an advocate of gun control, claiming that such efforts could reduce gun-related injuries.