Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human SexualityFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Upheaval, a fun and wide-ranging exploration of why human sexuality is so different from other animals', and how it made us who we are To us humans, the sex lives of animals seem weird. But it's our own sex lives that are truly bizarre. We are the only social species to insist on carrying out sex privately. Stranger yet, we have sex at any time, even during periods of infertility, such as pregnancy or post-menopause. A human female doesn't know her precise time of fertility and certainly doesn't advertise it to human males by the striking color changes, smells, and sounds used by other female mammals. Why do we differ so radically in these and other important aspects of our sexuality from our closest ancestor, the apes? Why does the human female, virtually alone among mammals, go through menopause? Why does the human male stand out as one of the few mammals to stay with the female he impregnates, to help raise the children that he sired? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large? There is no one better qualified than Jared Diamond to explain the evolutionary forces that operated on our ancestors to make us so different sexually. With wit and a wealth of fascinating examples, Why Is Sex Fun? shows how our sexuality, as much as our large brains or upright posture, led to human' rise in the animal kingdom. |
Contents
The Battle of the Sexes | 15 |
Why Dont Men Breastfeed Their Babies? | 41 |
What Are Men Good For? | 89 |
Further Reading | 147 |
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Aché adult male advertisement ancestors animal species apes babies behavior biological biologists bird species birth body bonobos breast chicks child childbirth chimpanzees chimps chromosome concealed ovulation copulate estrus evolution evolutionary evolved example extramarital father female's fertilized embryo function genes genetic glands gorillas Guinea Hadza harem Hence hormones human female menopause human penis human sexuality human societies hunter-gatherer hunters hunting husband infant infanticide internally fertilized investment kids lifestyle live male lactation male's males and females mammal species marsupial mating system men's milk million monkeys monogamous mother natural selection nest normal nursing offspring orangutans ovula ovulatory signals parent paternity physiological Pied Flycatchers pilot whales polyandry polygynous potential predators pregnancy primate produce promiscuous rear reproductive result risk secondary females share show-off signs of ovulation sperm Spotted Sandpipers strategy structures survival tend testes thereby tion traditional societies whales wife wives woman women Y chromosome