Gay Dating 101, Finding Men, Sex and Love in a Complicated World by Jonathan Cohen

There are various reasons why the two men on the cover are very right for this “how to do” book: first of all they are Tony Gibble and Clint Shields, i.e. a real life gay couple you can see also in some Dylan Rosser’s photo shoots, second they are raising Tony’s son in a same-sex marriage environment, and third they are ordinary guys. True, if you see them naked you notice that they are well-build and really handsome, but in a room full of guys they would on the average crowd. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a criticism, on the contrary, I appreciated that since I had the feeling Jonathan Cohen is very much like Tony and Clint, and moreover, I think the author was also a shy guy and what he is writing in this manual is probably what he experienced first-hand.

If I have to be 100% true, he didn’t catch me at first; he was pretty generic, and I felt like what he was saying was really not “real” enough, not “lived” enough. But then Jonathan Cohen starts to dive into details, all the main milestones for a gay boy and man, from coming out to meeting partners to having sex. The author maybe is shy in life but he is not shy in giving advices, and while the manual is not an health-care essay (and maybe when talking about diseases and safe sex he is a little high level), he touches many important issues.

Another point I think I understood of the author is that he is a romantic at heart, but that heart was probably broken once or twice. Jonathan Cohen has hope into long-term relationships and if he is not into one he is probably hoping for. And so some of his advices sounded sometime like those of a worried parent who wants to be sure his children will be able to find that happiness he is sure it’s waiting for them.

Gay Dating 101 is maybe high-level on some point but that could be a vantage: it’s not boring and for this world of fast-and-furious it can be useful to have something easier to drive you through the jungle of dating.

Amazon Kindle: Gay Dating 101: Finding Men, Sex and Love in A Complicated World
Publisher: Jonathan Cohen; 1 edition (January 21, 2012)

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