The Naked Truth: The Untold Story of Sex in Canada

Christine Schmidt specializes in law and sociology at Laurentian
University.

Canadians often lament their reputation as a proverbial nice guy. Well,
“nice guy” is not what Gudgeon had in mind when he wrote The Naked
Truth. This is a book that strips bare the sexy side of Canadian
history, showing us that we truly are naughty as well as nice. Gudgeon
offers the reader both a historical and a contemporary look at the
“real” sex lives of Canadians, and does so with humour and
frankness. Everything from sex before marriage (we apparently have lots
of it), to homosexuality, to swing clubs and infidelity is touched on in
the book. Gudgeon does not draw distinctions between good and bad sex,
but he does examine some of Canada’s more oppressive sex-related laws.

Though the book draws heavily from academic research, The Naked Truth
is not intended as a study on sex in Canada. Rather, it offers Canadians
an intriguing look at our own rich sexual history, while raising some
humorous and critical questions.

The book is spiced with titillating facts and tidbits (what was
Margaret Trudeau thinking when she ran off with the Rolling Stones!),
which make it deliciously entertaining. Gudgeon may have successfully
shown Canadians that we just may be the sexiest folks in the Western
world, while forcing us to question why we would never admit it.