Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

How Sex Works

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Language
  
English

Publication date
  
April 28, 2009

Originally published
  
28 April 2009

Genre
  
Non-fiction

Publisher
  
HarperCollins

Subject
  
Science

Media type
  
Hardback & Paperback

Author
  
Sharon Moalem

ISBN
  
9780061479656

Country
  
United States of America

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Pages
  
288 pp (hardback edition)

Preceded by
  
Survival of the Sickest

Similar
  
Sharon Moalem books, Human books

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How Sex Works: Why We Look, Smell, Taste, Feel, and Act the Way We Do' is a 2009 book by evolutionary biologist and New York Times bestselling author Sharon Moalem, published by HarperCollins. The book examines the scientific reasons people are attracted to one another including the evolutionary underpinnings of sexual attraction, monogamy, and sexual orientation.

Contents

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Overview

How Sex Works uses evolutionary biology to explore human sexuality, and how sexuality can influence society in terms of human relations and belief systems. The author examines the physiological purpose behind how sensory data is interpreted by the human body and its effect on human sexuality. Moalem arguest that menstruation, fertility, penis size, orgasm, ejaculation and contraception all have traces back to the “survival of the fittest” and human's desire to find a healthy partner for reproduction. The book covers other evolutionary factors influencing sexual attraction include pheremones, genetic makeup, immune system compatibility and ovulation.

The book uses various examples to illustrate the author's central point, including:

  • Body scents are linked to strength of immune systems, signaling potential mates on the viability of producing healthy offspring
  • Brazilian waxes have become more desirable as our subconscious attempts to eradicate pubic lice
  • Men watching pornography with other men in the shot (along with a female) can lead to increased sperm production due to the perceived competition
  • Women are more likely to fantasize about men who aren't their partners during ovulation, more likely to lead to fraternal twins
  • Men are attracted to women with low waist-to-hip ratio (hourglass shape) because fatty acids stored in hip fat aid brain development in fetuses and lead to smarter children
  • Kirkus Reviews called the book "provocative and entertaining" describing it as "a volume stuffed with information that avoids getting bogged down in difficult medical terms or complex biological concepts."

    References

    How Sex Works Wikipedia