Smiler, Andrew P.

Challenging Casanova : Beyond the Stereotype of the Promiscuous Young Male

Many people believe the male sex drive is ever present and barely controlled. This image is both a centerpiece of fiction—in movies like American Pie and Superbad —and in the news, as in the obsession with the sex lives of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, and other public figures. It seems guys who sleep around are expected to behave that way. But what would happen if we improved and expanded our sexual expectations of young men? If we stop believing that boys and men are emotional cripples and fly-by-night Casanovas who are just out for sex, and start believing that they're full, complete human beings who have emotional and relational needs? Challenging Casanova works to shift our thinking beyond this stereotypical perspective on male sexuality to a conception that is more complex and nuanced, one that acknowledges that most boys and young men want to have relationships and suggests that they take a variety of approaches to dating and sexuality. In this important new book, Dr. Andrew Smiler expands the discussion of boys' and young men's lives and provides all of us with a way to challenge this image. Drawing from the latest research and clinical studies on male sexuality, Smiler shows that when we put dating and sexuality in the context of other developmental changes instead of thinking about it as something separate from any other part of life, we get a very different, non-Casanova perspective on boys' sexual development. He explains how the Casanova Complex has become our "basic" understanding of young men's sexuality and shares what we can do as parents, teachers, and members of society, starting today, in order to challenge Casanova.