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Challenging everything from the mandates of the Catholic Church to the hotly debated ethics of pornography, and from the controversy surrounding gay rights to issues of gender and feminism, With Pleasure explores a new theory of human sexuality that ignites every hot topic in the public domain. What role, authors Paul Abramson and Steven Pinkerton ask, does sexual pleasure play in our lives? Is the pursuit of sexual enjoyment in our blood? Our brains? Our very nature? Regardless of the source, it can be agreed that the joys of sex are widely appreciated. Why, then, is pleasure so often overlooked in discussions of sexual behaviour, and why do cultural, historical, and religious treatises so often fail to emphasise, or outright ignore, this obvious aspect of human sexuality? Responding to these and many other questions about our most private affairs, With Pleasure provides a profoundly original challenge to the cherished truisms of human sexuality. Abramson and Pinkerton proclaim the paramount importance of pleasure, while at the same time overthrowing traditional ideas about gender, pornography, contraception, homosexuality, abortion, and much more. Supported by rigorous research and co-written by one of the foremost authorities on sex, With Pleasure argues that human sexuality cannot be understood if its significance is limited to reproduction alone. The authors posit that in humans reproduction itself occurs as a byproduct of pleasure--not the other way around--and that it is the strong drive for pleasure that makes people overcome many obstacles--and even life-threatening dangers such as AIDS--to have sex. Ranging from discussions about the church to current debates about pornography, and from evolutionary theory to questions about the future of sex and pleasure, Abramson and Pinkerton argue persuasively that the pleasurability of sex cannot be restricted to purely reproductive behaviour. With Pleasure advances a startling and original new theory about human sexuality, one which the authors believe will replace all existing notions about sex. The book, standing in direct and deliberate opposition to traditions that try to confine sexuality to procreation, is sure to ignite a firestorm of controversy.
In this multidisciplinary study of human sexuality, an
international team of scholars looks at the influences of nature
and nurture, biology and culture, and sex and gender in the sexual
experiences of humans and other primates.
Using as its center the idea that sexual pleasure is the primary
motivational force behind human sexuality and that reproduction is
simply a byproduct of the pleasurability of sex, this book examines
sexuality at the individual, societal, and cultural levels.
Beginning with a look at the evolution of sexuality in humans and
other primates, the essays in the first section examine the sexual
ingenuity of primates, the dominant theories of sexual behavior,
the differences in male and female sexual interest and behavior,
and the role of physical attractiveness in mate selection. The
focus then shifts to biological approaches to sexuality, especially
the genetic and hormonal origins of sexual orientation, gender, and
pleasure.
The essays go on to look at the role of pleasure in different
cultures. Included are essays on love among the tribespeople of the
Brazilian rain forest and the regulation of adolescent sexuality in
India. Finally, several contributors look at the methodological
issues in the study of human sexuality, paying particular attention
to the problems with research that relies on people's memories of
their sexual experiences.
The contributors are Angela Pattatucci, Dean Hamer, David
Greenberg, Frans de Waal, Mary McDonald Pavelka, Kim Wallen, Donald
Symons, Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, Jean D. Wilson, Donald Tuzin,
Lawrence Cohen, Thomas Gregor, Lenore Manderson, Robert C. Bailey,
Alice Schlegel, Edward H. Kaplan, Richard Berk, Paul R. Abramson,
Paul Okami, and Stephen D. Pinkerton.
Spanning the chasm of the nature versus nurture debate, "Sexual
Nature/Sexual Culture" is a look at human sexuality as a complex
interaction of genetic potentials and cultural influences. This
book will be of interest to a wide range of readers--from scholars
and students in psychology, anthropology, sociology, and history to
clinicians, researchers, and others seeking to understand the many
dimensions of sexuality.
"If we ever expect to solve the sexually based problems that modern
societies face, we must encourage investigations of human sexual
behavior. Moreover, those investigations should employ a broad
range of disciplines--looking at sex from all angles, which is
precisely what "Sexual Nature, Sexual Culture" does."--Mike May,
"American Scientist"
.,."This timely and relevant book reminds us that we cannot rely on
simple solutions to complex problems. It represents a
transdiciplinary approach integrating knowledge from diverse fields
and provides the reader with a challenging and rewarding
experience. Especially for those who are involved in teaching human
sexuality to medical students and other health care professionals,
this book is highly recommended."--Gerald Wiviortt, M.D., "Journal
of Nervous and Mental Disease"
"In short, this volume contains much to stimulate, inform, and
amuse, in varying proportions. What more can one ask?"--Pierre L.
van den Berghe, "Journal of the History of Sexuality"
.,."the book succeeds in bring together some of the sharpest
thinkers in the field of human sexuality, and goes a long way
toward clarifying the diverse perspectives that currently
exist."--David M. Buss and Todd K. Shackelford,"Quarterly Review of
Biology"
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