April 19, 2002

Book on Childhood Sexuality Arouses Controversy; U. of California Press Narrows Its Offerings

By ELIZABETH FARRELL and DANNY POSTEL

THE PERILS OF PUBLISHING: The University of Minnesota has decided that peer review needs some peer review. In response to a brouhaha over a new University of Minnesota Press book about childhood sexuality, the university plans to create a committee of outside experts to examine how its press decides which books to publish.

The decision comes on the heels of criticism from legislators and pundits about Judith Levine's Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex