Claudia Dey and the Bush Pilot Sex Guide

Humorous guidebooks about sex form their own corner of publishing, and a Canadian entry from the late 2000s came from Claudia Dey, a novelist, playwright and newspaper columnist. Her book on becoming a so-called Bush Pilot was written with a male readership in mind and used a military-and-aviation theme as a running joke. This article describes the book and the author's own remarks about it from a launch-period interview.

A comic frame around practical subjects

The book opens in the voice of a drill sergeant, summoning readers to inspect their gear and stand to attention. Its title borrows the idea of a bush pilot, a pilot who flies by instinct into remote terrain, and applies it to a lover who is skilled and adventurous. The text ranges from basic information to more advanced topics, and it uses lists of what not to do as comic interludes rather than as a rulebook.

Dey said that although the book was aimed at men, she received a large amount of response from women, much of it as thank-you notes. She argued that the benefit ran in both directions.

Research through many voices

Dey described gathering testimonials, outtakes and bloopers from many people she called babes and bush pilots. Contributors were given playful descriptive tags rather than names.

The approach mixes anecdote with light-hearted commentary, so that the book reads as a collage of voices rather than a single authority.

Humour, honesty and self-knowledge

Asked which qualities matter most when discussing sex, Dey named humour first and honesty second, tying honesty to self-awareness. In her view, understanding one's own body makes it possible to talk about it with a partner, and the two qualities together work against shame, pressure and anxiety. She suggested that the main failing of a bedroom novice is losing curiosity.

Why comic sex writing endures

Publishers and critics have often observed that comedy lowers the barrier to discussing a subject many readers find awkward. Sex guides that use satire, memoir or parody sit alongside clinical manuals and are widely discussed in Canadian book coverage. Details of the book's publication are not covered here.

Availability and editions of the book may have changed since its release.