The Red-Headed Kid, Part 1

In 1940, when the Red-Headed Kid is born, sex is a subject that never comes up. Men who openly want sex are perverts. Woman who like sex are whores and homosexuals are social pariahs. But, beneath the surface, things aren’t what they seem. Kinsey is asking questions that have never before been asked, and, as the fifties commence, the subject begins to come out of the closet. No one is supposed to DO it yet, but at least the world is beginning to openly admit that it exists. Then, the sixties storm in. Margaret Sanger legitimizes birth control, which frees women of the threat of unwanted pregnancy, and all hell breaks loose. Over the course of seventy years, the Kid experiences every minute of the sexual revolution. From the 1940s, when sex is never mentioned, to “no sex at all” in the 1950s, to “sex around the clock” in the sixties and seventies, to “no sex” again when AIDS suddenly appears, and then on to “endlessly dan�gerous sex” far too soon after that. In spite of the book’s overall sexual content, PART ONE of THE RED-HEADED KID is not overtly sexual. It is the gentle story of a small boy growing up in a warm family, a reminiscence of the forties and early fifties. It chronicles the rise of the baby boomers, their schools, their pets, their joys, and their problems. It discusses parental relationships and the social norms that inform and shape the attitudes of a generation that is taught never to grow old. It is NOT specifically sexual, other than in the way we all experience sexual thoughts as we come of age. Only the last chapter, SPERMARCH, deals directly with the subject of sexual awakening, a prelude to the evolution of our hero as he moves through the fascinating years during which men and women can experience sex without fear. It is a time of absolute freedom, the like of which may never be seen again. PART ONE of THE RED-HEADED KID is available on the Kindle from Amazon Books. PART TWO is scheduled for publication in the late winter of 2014.