Gray (human behavioral endocrinology, U. Nevada) and Garcia (gender studies, Indiana U.) present this multifaceted review of evolutionary influences on human sexual behavior, drawing on cross-cultural research, comparative primate behavior, and neuroendocrine studies. The narrative begins with a survey of adult sexual behavior in various human and ape social groups, goes through descriptive developmental aspects of sexuality, and then analyzes sexual anatomy and physiology in the context of genetic research and evolutionary theory. The authors end by speculating on ways that an integrative evolutionary approach to sexuality could be used to predict and understand future developments in legal, social, economic, and medical treatment of sexual issues. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Few things come more naturally to us than sexor so it would seem. Yet to a chimpanzee, the sexual practices and customs we take for granted would appear odd indeed. He or she might wonder why we bother with inconveniences like clothes, why we prefer to make love on a bed, and why we fuss so needlessly over privacy. Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior invites us into the thought-experiment of imagining human sex from the vantage point of our primate cousins, in order to underscore the role of evolution in shaping all that happens, biologically and behaviorally, when romantic passions are aroused.
Peter Gray and Justin Garcia provide an interdisciplinary synthesis that draws on the latest discoveries in evolutionary theory, genetics, neuroscience, comparative primate research, and cross-cultural sexuality studies. They are our guides through an exploration of the patterns and variations that exist in human sexuality, in chapters covering topics ranging from the evolution of sex differences and reproductive physiology to the origins of sexual play, monogamous unions, and the facts and fictions surrounding orgasm.
Intended for generally curious readers of all stripes, this up-to-date, one-volume survey of the evolutionary science of human sexual behavior explains why sexuality has remained a core fascination of human beings throughout time and across cultures.
A comprehensive survey of the evolutionary science of human sexual behavior,
Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior invites us to imagine human sex from the vantage point of our primate cousins, in order to underscore the role of evolution in shaping all that happens, biologically and behaviorally, when romantic passions are aroused.
