The Evolution of Human Sexuality

The Evolution of Human Sexuality PDF Author: Donald Symons
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199878471
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
Anthropology, Sexual Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Gender and Cultural Studies

The Evolution of Human Sexuality

The Evolution of Human Sexuality PDF Author: Donald Symons
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199878471
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
Anthropology, Sexual Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Gender and Cultural Studies

The Evolution of Sexuality

The Evolution of Sexuality PDF Author: Todd K. Shackelford
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319093843
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Attraction, mating, reproduction: it is a given that as a species, human beings are concerned with sex. And whether the study compares sexual behaviors of men and women or considers the proportions between nature and nurture, most roads lead back to our distant ancestors and/or our fellow animals. The Evolution of Sexuality collects stimulating new empirical findings and theoretical concepts regarding both familiar themes and emerging areas of interest. Following earlier titles in this series, an interdisciplinary panel of contributors examines topics specific to the whys of male and female sex-related behavior, here ranging from biological bases for male same-sex attraction to the seemingly elusive purpose of the female orgasm. This vantage point between biology and psychology gives readers profound insights not just into human differences and similarities, but also why they continue to matter despite our vast understanding of culture and socialization. And intriguing dispatches from the humanities review sexual themes in classic works of literature and explore the role of parent-offspring conflict in the English Revolution of the seventeenth century. Among the topics covered: Sexual conflict and evolutionary psychology: toward a unified framework. Assortative mating, caste, and class. The functional design and phylogeny of female sexuality. Is oral sex a form of mate retention behavior? Two behavioral hypotheses for the evolution or male homosexuality in humans. Sperm competition and the evolution of human sexuality. The Evolution of Sexuality will attract evolutionary scientists across a variety of disciplines. Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and researchers interested in sexuality will find it a springboard for discussion, debate, and further study.

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior

Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior PDF Author: Peter B. Gray
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674074394
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Few things come more naturally to us than sex—or 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.

Handbook of the Evolution of Human Sexuality

Handbook of the Evolution of Human Sexuality PDF Author: Michael R. Kauth
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0789035073
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Human sexuality can be better understood by knowing how sexual psychologies may have evolved throughout the ages. Handbook of the Evolution of Human Sexuality presents a detailed examination of human sexuality, the assumptions about concepts and terms pertaining to sexuality, and the latest theories on the evolution of human sexual attraction. Leading experts explore various aspects of evolutionary theory, with a focus on Evolutionary Psychology (EP). Discussions include mate preferences, mating behavior, mate signaling, pheromones, and same-sex attraction. This comprehensive source also presents three groundbreaking theories of the evolution of same-sex attraction.

Ever Since Adam and Eve

Ever Since Adam and Eve PDF Author: Malcolm Potts
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
A lively and entertaining account of the broad panorama of human sexual behaviour which reveals our actions to be an inextricable mixture of nature and nurture - a combination of innate actions evolved over the millenia, overlain by more recent cultural constraints imposed by civilization.

Why Is Sex Fun?

Why Is Sex Fun? PDF Author: Jared Diamond
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465013074
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
To us humans the sex lives of many animals seem weird. In fact, by comparison with all the other animals, we are the ones with the weird sex lives. How did that come to be?Just count our bizarre ways. We are the only social species to insist on carrying out sex privately. Stranger yet, we have sex at any time, even when the female can't be fertilized (for example, because she is already pregnant, post-menopausal, or between fertile cycles). 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 (often or usually) 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—renowned expert in the fields of physiology and evolutionary biology and award-winning author—to explain the evolutionary forces that operated on our ancestors to make us sexually different. With wit and a wealth of fascinating examples, he explains how our sexuality has been as crucial as our large brains and upright posture in our rise to human status.

The Nature and Evolution of Female Sexuality

The Nature and Evolution of Female Sexuality PDF Author: Mary Jane Sherfey
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
ISBN:
Category : Generative organs
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description


Sex, Time, and Power

Sex, Time, and Power PDF Author: Leonard Shlain
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101200391
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
As in the bestselling The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain’s provocative new book promises to change the way readers view themselves and where they came from. Sex, Time, and Power offers a tantalizing answer to an age-old question: Why did big-brained Homo sapiens suddenly emerge some 150,000 years ago? The key, according to Shlain, is female sexuality. Drawing on an awesome breadth of research, he shows how, long ago, the narrowness of the newly bipedal human female’s pelvis and the increasing size of infants’ heads precipitated a crisis for the species. Natural selection allowed for the adaptation of the human female to this environmental stress by reconfiguring her hormonal cycles, entraining them with the periodicity of the moon. The results, however, did much more than ensure our existence; they imbued women with the concept of time, and gave them control over sex—a power that males sought to reclaim. And the possibility of achieving immortality through heirs drove men to construct patriarchal cultures that went on to dominate so much of human history. From the nature of courtship to the evolution of language, Shlain’s brilliant and wide-ranging exploration stimulates new thinking about very old matters.

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Sexual Psychology and Behavior

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Sexual Psychology and Behavior PDF Author: Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1493903144
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
This volume in the Springer Series in Evolutionary Psychology presents a state of the art view of the topic of sexuality and sexual behavior drawing on theoretical constructs and research of noted individuals in the field. Comprehensive and multi-disciplinary, this book seeks to provide a broad overview without sacrificing the complexity of a multi-faceted approach. The book is framed by introductory and closing sections that provide a context for the range of ideas contained within. Ample space is provided in designated sections that focus on key areas of sexuality from both male and female perspectives and that include information from primate studies. This volume can serve as a graduate text in sexual behavior in evolutionary terms and as a guide for further research.

Evolution's Rainbow

Evolution's Rainbow PDF Author: Joan Roughgarden
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520957970
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 491

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Book Description
In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science—and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. Evolution's Rainbow explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. Witty, playful, and daring, this book will revolutionize our understanding of sexuality. Roughgarden argues that principal elements of Darwinian sexual selection theory are false and suggests a new theory that emphasizes social inclusion and control of access to resources and mating opportunity. She disputes a range of scientific and medical concepts, including Wilson's genetic determinism of behavior, evolutionary psychology, the existence of a gay gene, the role of parenting in determining gender identity, and Dawkins's "selfish gene" as the driver of natural selection. She dares social science to respect the agency and rationality of diverse people; shows that many cultures across the world and throughout history accommodate people we label today as lesbian, gay, and transgendered; and calls on the Christian religion to acknowledge the Bible's many passages endorsing diversity in gender and sexuality. Evolution's Rainbow concludes with bold recommendations for improving education in biology, psychology, and medicine; for democratizing genetic engineering and medical practice; and for building a public monument to affirm diversity as one of our nation's defining principles.