The Book Prize Index

Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex

Judith Levine

Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex (ISBN 0-8166-4006-8 [hardcover], ISBN 1-56025-516-1 [paperback]) is a 2002 book by Judith Levine. The foreword was written by former United States Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, who resigned after suggesting that masturbation be destigmatized as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity. The "Author's Note" states: "Most of the research for this book, including interviews, was conducted between 1996 and early 2000, and pertinent statistics were updated in 2001. The names of all nonprofessionals have been fictionalized, along with some identifying characteristics." In the book, Levine discusses United States laws concerning child pornography, statutory rape, and abortion for minors using a variety of studies and interviews with teenagers and adults alike (see Acknowledgments). Levine also analyzes abstinence-only sex education, which Levine considers counter-productive and dangerous. The book also examines the terms "harmful to minors" and "indecency," which Levine considers to be umbrella terms for censorship, as well as the Dylan v. Heather case, and the little-known Support Program for Abusive Reactive Kids (SPARK) and Sexual Treatment Education Program and Services (STEP).

Gender & SexualityGender & Sexuality · medium confidenceGender & Sexuality81 signalsLlm Classifier: Gender & Sexuality -> Gender & SexualityKeyword Classifier: American History -> American HistoryKeyword Classifier: Gender & Sexuality -> Gender & SexualityReproductive Rights & Family PolicyLGBTQ History & LifeGender & Feminism

Award History

1 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current InterestMajor2002WinnerSecondary source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Joycelyn Elders42%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • United States52%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    Levine argues that laws and policies framed as protecting children from sex—such as “harmful to minors” and indecency rules and abstinence-only sex education—are counter-productive and dangerous because they function as censorship or impede effective risk reduction.

    Model confidence 46%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    68 / 100 academic

    Academic

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 56%.