Brian McNaught is a gay icon. Though that term is used frequently these days, in McNaught’s case it is well-deserved. He came out in 1974, before it became fashionable, and has since become the “godfather of gay sensitivity training” by his work as “a sexuality trainer and author whose primary focus are the issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and those who live or work with them.” McNaught’s books On Being Gay - Thoughts on Family, Faith and Love, Gay Issues in the Workplace and Now That I’m Out, What Do I Do? are classics that belong in every gay person’s book collection.

For many years McNaught has been a staff member at “Sex Camp,” which we are told is “an annual, week-long, intensive workshop in human sexuality that has, over the past 30 years, dramatically impacted the lives of hundreds of everyday people, me included.” Properly named the Annual Workshop on Sexuality at Thornfield [New York], “Sex Camp” brings together many people from many different backgrounds and opinions, and is no doubt the setting for many a lively conversation and profound discussion. McNaught must have thought that too, since he used his memories and experiences of “Sex Camp” to write Sex Camp, a lighthearted, fictional look at a “typical” week at the Camp.

Sex Camp features the most diverse cast of characters this side of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Among the 32 campers are a nun, an “ex-gay man,” a cross-dressing heterosexual church organist, a “queer” activist, a homophobic Planned Parenthood educator, a hunky straight man in a wheelchair, two football coaches, and a half a dozen ministers, just to name a few. Add to that a “Sex Camp” staff of 6 intelligent, opinionated men and women (including McNaught, who appears in this novel as himself) and you have the makings of a lively, inspiring, and explosive novel. Those who participated in “Sex Camp” (according to this book) leave with more knowledge of sex than is possessed by 90% of the U.S. population (no surprise there), not to mention a week’s supply of life-altering experiences and insights.

During “Sex Camp” the campers and the staffers discuss such important issues as sexual values, body image, “self-pleasuring,” gender identity, sexual orientation, seduction, abuse, theology, and “turn ons.” McNaught used those conversations as launching pads to discuss those issues, from various perspectives; and the result is an exposition that is as informative and definitely more entertaining than what you would find in a scholarly dissertation. McNaught should be commended for his ability to write sympathetically about people whose views he does not agree with. (McNaught’s portrayal of the “ex-gay” man, and other assorted homophobes, are good examples of his literary empathy.) Though there is much conflict and argument here, most of the campers eventually learn to respect each other and to listen to each other. If “real world” people could get along with each other the way these fictional campers do, the world would be a much better place.

Sex Camp is more than a seminar in human sexuality, of course. And it is more than an introduction to “the world’s best kept secret.” It is also an entertaining story; and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, or a long train trip. You might even want to attend “Sex Camp” yourself, after reading McNaught’s fascinating rendition of it. Every member of Congress and the Bush Administration (not to mention the Vatican) ought to be required to spend a week at “Sex Camp.” I can dream, can I?

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and gay book lover who lives in South Florida with his life partner and many books. You may reach him at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.