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A review by theresidentbookworm
Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student by Miriam Grossman
3.0
When I signed up to take Relationships, my three best friends all told me, "You are going to hate the book we have to read." When I asked why, they told me it would be too conservative for my tastes. I am a fairly liberal person when it comes to social issues, and I have very conflicted views on abortion. I started Unprotected skeptical and a little worried, and I ended it not figuring out what my friends thought would upset me so much.
Don't be mistaken. Dr. Grossman definitely has a pro-life, Christian bias, and she isn't very subtle about it. Unprotected is less of a psychological study and more of a doctor's memoir. Grossman relies heavily on her own personal experiences as a campus counselor at UCLA, and it is clear she cares and worries over the patients she sees. This might even be the book's main weakness. Sometimes Grossman's writing feels a little too hostile, and it detracts from the well organized factual aspect of each chapter. It would've been better presented with less commentary.
I honestly wasn't shocked by anything I read in Unprotected. In fact, it seemed to me to be things that at college students should already know or at least have an idea of. Yes, you are more at risk for STDs the more sexually active you are and the more sexual partners you have. Yes, there is really no such thing as safe sex because many STDs have no symptoms and aren't tested for until symptoms show. Yes, a STD like Chlamydia can be dangerous and severely damaged a woman's ability to have children if left untreated. Yes, having an abortion is not nearly as easy and painless as society would want us to think. Everything I read, while enlightening and informative, was not new to me. I had already received most of this information at 18, but I can't help but wonder if it's due to the environment I go to school in. I'm not sure what is taught and what is not taught about these things in public school.
Overall, Grossman had solid facts if not enough of them to support her points. It was, as I said earlier, extremely well organized, and I enjoyed how she started each chapter with a story of one of her patient's. The only real problem I had with the book was how she tried to portray conservative Christians as the most discriminated group in psychology. I could see where she is coming from, but I feel like she was overreaching there. I liked the book, but it could've been better argued. I'd like to hear what someone outside of the Church has to say about it because I am reading with my own Catholic bias.
Don't be mistaken. Dr. Grossman definitely has a pro-life, Christian bias, and she isn't very subtle about it. Unprotected is less of a psychological study and more of a doctor's memoir. Grossman relies heavily on her own personal experiences as a campus counselor at UCLA, and it is clear she cares and worries over the patients she sees. This might even be the book's main weakness. Sometimes Grossman's writing feels a little too hostile, and it detracts from the well organized factual aspect of each chapter. It would've been better presented with less commentary.
I honestly wasn't shocked by anything I read in Unprotected. In fact, it seemed to me to be things that at college students should already know or at least have an idea of. Yes, you are more at risk for STDs the more sexually active you are and the more sexual partners you have. Yes, there is really no such thing as safe sex because many STDs have no symptoms and aren't tested for until symptoms show. Yes, a STD like Chlamydia can be dangerous and severely damaged a woman's ability to have children if left untreated. Yes, having an abortion is not nearly as easy and painless as society would want us to think. Everything I read, while enlightening and informative, was not new to me. I had already received most of this information at 18, but I can't help but wonder if it's due to the environment I go to school in. I'm not sure what is taught and what is not taught about these things in public school.
Overall, Grossman had solid facts if not enough of them to support her points. It was, as I said earlier, extremely well organized, and I enjoyed how she started each chapter with a story of one of her patient's. The only real problem I had with the book was how she tried to portray conservative Christians as the most discriminated group in psychology. I could see where she is coming from, but I feel like she was overreaching there. I liked the book, but it could've been better argued. I'd like to hear what someone outside of the Church has to say about it because I am reading with my own Catholic bias.