Boyslut, Zachary Zane

‘Reading about Zane’s own sexual adventures is like getting invited to Sunday brunch by your wittiest, sluttiest, funniest friend and getting to listen to him recount his crazy weekend.’ - Dan Savage

A sex and relationship columnist bares it all in a series of essays-part memoir, part manifesto-that explore the author's coming-of-age and coming out as a bisexual man and move toward embracing and celebrating sex unencumbered by shame. 

As a boy, Zachary Zane sensed that all was not right when images of his therapist naked popped into his head. He sometimes imagined other people naked, too, and without an explanation as to why, a deep sense of shame pervaded these thoughts. Though his therapist assured him a little imagination was nothing to be ashamed of, over the years, society told him otherwise.

Boyslut is a memoir-manifesto in which Zane articulates that, even today, we live in a world that shames people for the sex that they have and the sexualities that they inhabit. Through the lens of his bisexuality and much self-described sluttiness, Zane breaks down exactly how this sexual shame negatively impacts the sex and relationships in our lives, and through personal experience, shares how we can unlearn the harmful, entrenched messages that society imparts to us. From stories of play sessions with a neighbor at age six to the first explorations of Zane's bisexuality in college, as well as sex parties, orgies, and fun with butt plugs, Boyslut is reassuring and often painfully funny-and most potently, it is a testimony that we can all learn to live healthier lives unburdened by stigma.


Zachary Zane reading from Boy Slut

It’s time for some sex positivity! This week we’ve invited sex and relationship columnist Zachary Zane to read to you from his painfully funny memoir, Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto. The New York based author bares all in this memoir-manifesto, exploring how, even today, we live in a world that shames people for the sex they have and the sexualities they inhabit. Through the lens of his bisexuality and self-described sluttiness, Zachary breaks down how this sexual shame impacts our lives, and how we can unlearn the harmful, entrenched messages society imparts to us.

Boyslut, perfect for readers of Unprotected by Billy Porter or Here for It by R. Eric Thomas, is published by Abrams Image, an imprint of Abrams & Chronicle Books. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org.


Damian Barr’s Literary Salon is where the freshest debuts and the biggest bestsellers read for the first time from their latest greatest books and share their own personal stories.

Enjoy the Literary Salon podcast's Book of the Week where each bite-sized episode offers an exclusive taster of a new book. World premieres include Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain, Maddie Mortimer's Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies and Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait. You're going to love it.

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