Acknowledgments

Over the years that we have worked on sexual development, sex education, and sexuality, there have been many colleagues, professors, and students who provided us with insights and encouragement. Some of them have even contributed chapters to this volume. Some of them have not, but have inspired us nonetheless. Our deepest gratitude, however, goes to Jennifer Bethune, a PhD student, whose organizational skills, deep readings, and insightful questions certainly improved this volume and kept us on track to finish in a timely manner. Lee Iskander joined our editing team at a crucial moment and provided excellent support and smart readings. We are especially grateful to Janka Romero, our Cambridge University Press editor, who saw the need for this kind of handbook, one that looked at sexual development outside the typically pathologizing frameworks of juvenile justice or sexual victimization. We appreciate her vision, trust, and patience. We were lucky that our chapter authors were such good sports when we cajoled, challenged, and suggested new shapes for their chapters. We could not have done so if the raw material they provided wasn’t supremely interesting, well written, and engaging.

Finally, Sharon thanks Jen Gilbert, delighting in this new friendship that came together through a suggestion from Jessica Fields, who perhaps knew how much she would love Jen’s sense of humor, and knowing the fun we would eventually have when we met in person to share good food, wine, and stories. I (Sharon) appreciate Jen’s continued focus on what is theoretically sound as well as meaningful, which helped me trust this volume would be special and useful. And Jen thanks Jessica Fields, whose love and companionship helped her stay grounded in the midst of the editing storm, and Sharon Lamb, whose work has long been important to her thinking. Thank you for the gift of collegiality and friendship – this volume reflects the boldness and bravery of your vision for sexuality research and education.