The Joy of Gay Sex

The Joy of Gay Sex is a sex manual for men who have sex with men, written by Charles Silverstein and Edmund White. It was first published in 1977, inspired by the bestselling The Joy of Sex (1972), and its original print run was 75,000 copies. Silverstein later recalled that the authors aimed for a broader focus than sex alone: the book was also meant to advise readers about life in the gay community, and most of the passages in the finished book were not sexual in nature.

Running to 207 pages, the book works as a practical guide. It includes chapters on blowjobs, cruising and dirty talk, a gay Kama Sutra with suggested positions such as "the crab," and a cultural section covering coming out, gay politics and racism. It is celebrated for its sex-positive tone. It has been translated into French, German, Italian, Swedish and Japanese. It was followed by The New Joy of Gay Sex (1993), co-written with Felice Picano, and a fully revised and expanded third edition in 2006, also co-written with Picano.