Dimensions
165 x 236 x 25mm
Why do we need sex? Looking back into our evolutionary past‚ Dr. Sharon Moalem explores the ways in which the struggle to survive and create healthy offspring has determined-and continues to influence-our sexuality. Beginning with the sexual practices of various animals and plants‚ Dr. Moalem traces the evolution of sex across species and time periods to discuss its current role in human societies. From the finely tuned structure and function of human sex organs‚ to the developmental mysteries of having both male and female sexes‚ to the peculiar biology of sexual attraction‚ this new book presents a series of strange and fascinating discoveries about the human mating game. Dr. Moalem's research also examines recent discoveries related to contraception‚ pregnancy‚ sexuality‚ and sterility.
In this book‚ Dr. Moalem will tackle a host of fascinating medical questions and little-known evolutionary linkages‚ among these:
* What do our attractive physical traits indicate about our fertility?
* How is our sense of smell linked to the choice of our mate?
* Where did sexually transmitted diseases come from?
* Why do women experience menopause while men remain fertile?
* How have homosexuality and non-sexual reproduction evolved?
* Why do pregnant women report increased enjoyment of orgasms?
Dr. Moalem's unique evolutionary perspective offers readers a new understanding of the creative roles that culture‚ biology‚ and time have all played in shaping our wonderfully varied and complicated sexuality. In answering these and many other questions‚ he provides an entertaining‚ comprehensive history that goes far beyond our classic 'birds and bees' understanding of sex. This is a book that challenges common perceptions about our bodies with astonishing discoveries from the very frontiers of evolutionary science.
