You can find plenty of horrendous kinky sex advice – and horrendous vanilla sex advice – online without even breaking a sweat. Quick and easy ways of detecting that the kinky sex advice you’re reading is not only a ridiculous crock of shit but might actually hurt you is probably the topic of another post (or maybe someone else’s job altogether). As I get more into the joys of bookdealing and widen my… er.. scope? Flaps? Parameters? I’ve started considering what non-fiction, and specifically what kinky sex advice, I’m stocking.
I source a percentage of my stock online, or from second-hand dealers (often in the form of people who get in touch to say, hey, I’m having a clearout, want some books? If this could be you, do get in touch...) So some of the books are old, or old-ish. I do have a general fondness for vintage sex 
books, including vintage ‘marriage guidance, and I know I’m not the only one. But there’s a difference between the spectacularly ancient and the recent-enough-to-look-contemporary.
A lot of books which were written in the 1990s, when the combination of greater openness about kinky stuff and the arrival of sufficiently affordable/accessible print technology made it a bit easier to produce and sell such things. This was also the era when everyone was starting to discover the Internet, which made it the done thing to feature a list of “web sites” that the book’s authors thought might provide additional info and guidance.I quite often find myself advising potential customers 
that there’s a section of the book – usually, mercifully, no more than a couple of pages – that can be completely disregarded. But I did recently have a copy of a book which, while packed with fascinating information about anatomy and even a bit of psychology about BDSM, had a whole chapter on HIV awareness and prevention… which I felt obliged to warn customers that they should not obey. No blame whatsoever towards the author: it’s simply down to the book having been published in about 1993, when the prevention and/or treatment of HIV and AIDS were very different.
Of course, some of the most popular and well-regarded books of kinky sex advice get re-issued, with any blatantly outdated material removed – but you’ll only get the benefit if you buy a brand new copy. So if you’re reading something that seems a bit weird, it’s probably a good idea to check the publication date before following any instructions that might not do what you expect them to do.