Deal With It!
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | September 1, 1999 |
| Founder | Esther Drill, Heather McDonald, Rebecca Odes |
| Products | Sex education guidebook for teenagers |
Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL is a 1999 guidebook for teenagers on sex education and advice, authored by Esther Drill, Heather McDonald, and Rebecca Odes, the founders of the American website Gurl.com. Released by Pocket Books on September 1, 1999, the publication closely follows the structure of the original website.
Achieving status as a national bestseller, Deal With It! received the I.D. Magazine Award in 2000. It was lauded for its candid, informative, and impartial treatment of subjects such as puberty and sexuality but encountered opposition from conservative factions due to its inclusive LGBT content and sex-positive stance.
Background
In May 1996, Esther Drill, Heather McDonald, and Rebecca Odes introduced Gurl.com as part of their Master's Thesis at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. The site rapidly became one of the pioneering U.S. online platforms aimed specifically at teenage girls. By 1998, media outlets announced a book deal stemming from the website through collaboration with Scholastic. The creators intended the book to serve as a resource addressing teenage girls’ issues and providing guidance on life decisions.
The publication is designed for mature teenagers and young women in their early twenties because of its open discussions about sexuality; nevertheless, the authors maintain that sexual education should not be confined to any particular age group.
Format
Taking its title from "Deal With It," a feature on Gurl.com, the book is organized into four main sections: "Body" (covering topics like body image, diet, and physical activity); "Sexuality" (exploring sexual health alongside emotional and societal considerations); "Brain" (addressing mental health challenges such as eating disorders, academic struggles, and suicidal thoughts); and "Life" (focusing on family dynamics, social status, and romantic relationships). Each segment contains subtopics like "What's Up Down There" and "Understanding STDs." The book tackles adolescent concerns including puberty, queer identities, sexuality, eating disorders, substance use, and mental wellness. It offers expert-reviewed content supplemented by resource lists. Maintaining the website’s blend of humor and information, it also incorporates excerpts from user chats.
Visually consistent with Gurl.com’s aesthetic, Deal With It! employs cartoon illustrations and vibrant colors. Art direction was led by Odes with design by Georgia Rucker. The production process involved tools such as Adobe Illustrator, QuarkXPress, Flash, and Streamline. To avoid promoting unrealistic body standards, illustrations of women are used instead of photographs. The cover art features a girl revealing lingerie beneath her trench coat.
Publication history
To support Deal With It!, Odes, Drill, and McDonald launched DealWithIt.com as an online companion resource. Pocket Books published the book on September 1, 1999, pricing it at US$15. A United Kingdom edition followed in 2001.
Reception
Women's Wear Daily characterized the book as "witty," highlighting its "non-judgmental and upbeat tone." Natalie Angier of The New York Times described Deal With It! as "humorous," noting its vivid colors, cartoon graphics, and fragmented text layout. While praised for its openness, editors from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly warned that some material might be unsuitable for either its intended audience or conservative readers. Jennifer Howard from The Washington Post emphasized the comprehensive "Life" section as an effective tool encouraging young women’s self-care. John Malam of The Guardian applauded the book for empowering rather than lecturing its readers.
Jane Gordon of the Hartford Courant reported parental objections regarding the book’s sexual content; however, authors noted that teenagers often preferred it over discussing sex with their parents. Psychiatrist Miriam Grossman criticized it as containing "offensive material," particularly for covering topics like BDSM. Additionally, groups such as The Library Patrons of Texas and Parents Protecting the Minds of Children of Arkansas opposed the book due to its LGBT-inclusive content. In 2009, West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries sought to remove it from West Bend Community Library shelves by labeling it "pornography." The title ranks #82 on the American Library Association’s list of Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books from 2000 to 2009.
Commercially successful, Deal With It! sold 100,000 copies in the United States by January 2000 and reached half a million by March that year. In July 2000, it earned the I.D. Magazine Award in the Graphics category.