Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
Ratings30
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings30
Average rating3.9
"A controversial, idea-driven book that challenges everything you know about sex, marriage, family, and society"--Provided by publisher.
Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. But this narrative is collapsing. Here, renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá, while debunking almost everything we "know" about sex, offer a bold alternative explanation. Ryan and Jethá's central contention is that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. With intelligence, humor, and wonder, Ryan and Jethá show how our promiscuous past haunts our struggles over monogamy, sexual orientation, and family dynamics. Human beings everywhere and in every era have confronted the same familiar, intimate situations in surprisingly different ways. The authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.--From publisher description.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book covers so much ground! I cannot even begin to summarize, except to say that if I had somehow been able to read it in magical hypertext that took me to all the other books it even talks about, I would still be lost in reference material. And I want to read them all!
Also - ever wondered why the average woman is louder during sex than the average man? What about the cause of men's mid-life crises? Are humans naturally monogamous as a species? Why or why not?
I am aware that another book has been written just to rebut this one. I might read it. I will at least take a look and consider it, to be fair.
An interesting take on the history of monogamy in humans, our ancestors and our relatives. The important thing to put aside when reading this one is any preconception of ethics or morality. This is a scientific and historical study of how societies have structured societies in different cultures.
One of the best and most comprehensive books that I've read on human relations. Coming from a deeply religious background, and being force-fed the standard narrative of human relations - this book was a gust of much needed fresh air. I'm reading it again with my partner!
Monogamy is bullshit. It's unnatural. Everybody knows that, yet we spend our lives living and defending the lie. How did the myth get started? Why does it persist? In a word: agriculture. It's a long and convoluted story, but it all boils down to Stuff. Once we settled down and started accumulating Stuff, we had to start defending it. And “Stuff”, of course, includes wimminfolk. There you go.
It's hard to imagine prehistory. Really hard. There's not much to go on... but there's a lot more every year: archaeological evidence, anthropological, DNA analysis, behavioral studies of our Bonobo cousins. And all of it – all of it – points to a history that's different from what we grew up believing. The last 10,000 years are an aberration, and one that's making us sick.
Sex at Dawn is the most thorough study I've yet read on the subject. It's also the most readable. Ryan and Jethá present the evidence clearly, in a sometimes chiding but always loving voice. They don't always agree with the conclusions of the scientists whose work they cite... but they gently show how even the scientists themselves don't agree with the evidence they've collected. (It's understandable: we've all got a lot of misconceptions to outgrow, and that's hard.)
Sex at Dawn explains us better than anything I've yet read. This is an important book, well worth reading and thinking about.
