Sex

Texas Moves To Protect Kids—and Women—From 'Demonic' Sex Education Book

The book is part of a wider spate of "dirty" and "vulgar" books that authorities want yanked, including an educational book that mentions animal penis sizes and classic literature by authors like Tennessee Williams and Maya Angelou.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.26.2026 12:02 PM

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(Penguin Random House. Illustration: Fatima Ruiz/Midjourney.)

"We're coming for the books," said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, apparently aiming to sound as much like an arch cartoon supervillain as possible. Last week, Patrick held a press conference alongside conservative activist Bonnie Wallace to take issue with what he called "dirty, filthy, and vulgar books"—and Wallace called "demonic content"—in school libraries.

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'Demonic' Sex Education Content?

The content in question in Texas is…a sex education book aimed at high-school audiences. Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human was the main offender highlighted by Patrick and Wallace. And from their hype, one would think the 2021 book—by married couple Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan—featured explicit pornography, perhaps alongside a guide to gangbangs and instructions on making your own Satan-shaped sex toys.

But from what I can tell, it's a pretty normal and age-appropriate sex education book. The book's publisher says it's intended for audiences ages 14 and up. It covers, in conversational comic-book form, topics like consent, setting sexual boundaries, how to deal with rejection, contraception, and preventing sexually transmitted diseases. It includes messages like "It's okay to avoid sexy activities if they don't interest you" or "to never have sex if you know it's not for you."

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There are a few pages featuring explicit (cartoon) images of nude bodies, but these are not erotic images. Some come in a section of a chapter on body image that discusses insecurity and the importance of not comparing yourself to others. Others come in a biology lesson about hormones, genitals, and sex characteristics.

There are also mentions of things like polyamory, sex toys, masturbation, porn, and sexting. But these aren't included in a gratuitous or overly graphic way. They're presented in an educational manner, albeit on topics that clearly some people in Texas think teens—and perhaps adult women—shouldn't know about.

"These are books that are so disgusting, so filthy, so dirty, so vulgar, so pornographic that for the ladies here, I wouldn't even open it and show you," Patrick said. "I didn't show the female senators last session….We passed [Senate Bill 13], but I did it without."

It's rare that men in power make explicit how much they view women—including female colleagues—like children, but here we are!

Sex censorship has always been rooted in patriarchal "protection" of children and women (whom they consider children). Imagine telling a room full of colleagues — fellow legislators! reporters! — that they must be protected from anodyne discussions of sex in a book meant for kids 14 and up.

— Mike Stabile (@mikestabile.bsky.social) 2026-08-19T23:32:16.663Z

The bill Patrick........

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