Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)

Actual content of this short work (only 146 pages) I would rate only 3 1/2 stars, mostly due to the lack of a bibliography, but Diamond makes up for everything with his reader friendly style, earning him 4 stars. He does present extensive additional reading materials and a complete index, so even with a lack of reference he does not leave you in the dark should you decide further study is in order.

`Why Sex Is Fun' is really just an anthropological muse, Diamond giving you the feeling that you are sitting in a café with him, kicking back, drinking some wine, and mulling over an interesting subject with well schooled friend.

He thoroughly examines the separation of man from ape in our breeding signals and patterns, but leaves out significant sociological factors that held the hand of the human boxes as we evolved up and away from lower-brained species, leaving behind many instinctual behaviors in favor of the intellectual.

However, from a strictly anthropological view, this book is interesting, well written, well formatted, and a welcome addition to Diamond's previous `Guns, Germs, and Steel' and `The Third Chimpanzee'.

You will find yourself pondering questions such as, Why do human females hide ovulation? Why do human females shut down fertility (menopause)? What is the benefit of the human female being receptive to $ex even when she is not ovulating? What makes human males `stick around' rather than spread their genes as far and wide as possible? Why don't men lactate? (*shudder*) And the favorite chapter for the ladies, What are men good for? Which studies the evolutionary role of the human male.

`Why Is Sex Fun?' is an informative read with a dash of fun, challenging enough for anthropology students and yet written for laymen to enjoy also. Have fun!

I enjoyed this book far more than others I have read on the same topic. It doesn't pretend to be comprehensive but does highlight various issues in an almost topic essay style. The topics - why don't men lactate? why do women experience the menopause? why do human females have hidden ovulation (and associated continuous interest)? ......
However, I am disturbed by one aspect of this book - the thesis that evolution has developed a strategy for an outcome. My behaviour is certainly not one designed overtly to perpetuate the species or to pass on my genes. It seems to me that people - and far less animals - are very unlikely to have developed strategies that have resulted in us being where we are today. Much more likely is the possibility that we are here today - and the other animals - because we happen to have certain behavioural characteristics. Is it important? What if, as a species, humankind had behaved differently? My suspicion is that the variety of (successful) animal behaviours described by Mr Diamond and others, indicates that behaviour may not have such an important role as might have been suspected.
My other concern is that, for people anyway, Mr Diamond seems to suggest that human behaviour is consistent - that we don't change as we age, as we develop family ties and responsibilities. What is the role of parenthood in our behaviour and its changes? Perhaps someone needs to write 'Why Parenthood is Fun?' It is undoubtedly a terrific challenge to gestate and then rear a child, but it is also so rewarding even when it impoverishes other aspects of our life.
'Germs, Guns and Steel' - one of the worst titled books I think I've ever come across - was one of my top reads in 2000. I think that the book I am reviewing here shows again Mr Diamond's clear thinking style of prose that is a pleasure to read.

This short work by the author of the classic "Guns, Germs, and Steel" seeks to explain the evolutionary paths of distinctive human sexual characteristics. It does not, however, attempt to explain all sexual behavior in humans, focusing instead on general sexual behavior between men and women. Masturbation, homosexuality, and many other types of sexual behavior are not touched upon here, so if you find any of them fun, you will have to look elsewhere for reasons explaining why.
Humans have several sexual traits that, even if not unique, are still highly unusual in animal species -- concealed ovulation in females, near constant female receptivity to sex, recreational sex, and female menopause. Diamond shows the most likely evolutionary explanations for why humans possess these traits. Some of the explanations are more plausible than others, but almost all of the arguments are interesting to read.
As usual, Diamond writes well; the book is clear and concise and can be finished in an evening. Also, as usual, Diamond can't help but let his politics show in his writing; in one chapter, he gives a bizarre boost to male lactation and the notion that men might someday help their wives breastfeed their young.

The book is a blend of "Animal Planet" and Maxim, so at times many of its theories sound more like folk tales than well researched data and at the end you feel that it lacks a clear conclusion. There are many generalizations such as: Women tend to be more responsible with their off spring because they have invested more time and resources on their creation, (ii) That there is a war of the sexes going on, as the reproductive interest of women and males is often at crossroads, as we are more promiscuous and they prefer the company of a single by very well endowed male who could provide security. That ovulation in females is hidden and they are sexually available 24/7 so that their partners will be more inclined to keep them company and not run away looking for sex somewhere else, leaving them abandoned and at peril. Each one of them could be true but at the same time is possible to point out to certain facts which could prove that the premise is wrong. For more interesting observations and analysis buy a book of Desmond Morris.

By they way the book never really tell you why sex is fun (I mean outside the fact that we all know that is fun) and why we humans like to keep it private in practically every society.

This great little book shows us how science really works. It's like a series of detective stories - following clues (generating hypotheses) until you run into walls (counterarguments) until eventually a more or less satisfactory theory emerges (subject to the next scientist’s new evidence or argument). In this case it's all about how evolution has shaped human sexuality, much of it by comparing us with other primates and examining our evolutionary history as best we know it.

The first big question, referred to in the title of the book, is why we can enjoy sex throughout most of our lives, often daily, unlike many primates, even though women are infertile most of that time and it takes time and energy away from other pressing activities. It's not as obvious as you might think. From one mystery to another, detective Diamond just whets your appetite for more.

Yet there is a question that I've wondered about for many years, a question that I think needs to be more fully addressed: Why are male and female sexuality so badly matched? He does explain (p. 100) that the "hunter-gatherer lifestyle involves a classic conflict of interest": "A woman is best off married to a good provider, but a man is not best off being a provider". Then he proceeds to note that "Conflicts of interest between people closely related by blood or marriage are the commonest, most gut wrenching tragedies of our lives." Then why hasn't evolution found some way to make our lives less tragic? Is it that we are just too young as a species or has this actually contributed to our evolutionary success?

This is a fascinating book, & by-and-large explains the uniqueness of human sexuality with evolutionary logic.

Quite a few chapters are fascinating forays into aspects of human sexuality. But chief among these is the chapter which delves into why is sex fun for humans. In a very cogent manner, Diamond puts forward competing theories around the evolution of concealed female ovulation & extends it to explain why sex tends to be largely recreational in humans. The chapter on "What are men good for" represents "both sides" of the argument, & though there are certain attempts at re-establishing men's role in child rearing (food, protection etc), Diamond finally gives up & concedes that men aren't good for too many things in general.

The chapter on female menopause is an intriguing piece of counter-intuitive reasoning - making more by making less - as he calls this chapter. Now a lot of aspects of human sexuality - because it is evolutionary in nature, as are all other aspects of living beings - can be reasoned about, in the evolutionary backdrop, but who is to say that one theory is better than the other, or choose between two competing theories both of which explain the same set of observations. You can see more instances of such theorizing in the final chapter on Body signals where Diamond very eruditely talks about signals that different species have for attracting mates, discusses all the theories around such signals, establishes one of them loosely, & uses it to explain the relatively longer human-male penis compared to the chimps, & gorillas.

These, though, are minor issues - unless you're in the same field as Diamond. For the general reader, this book still is packed with plenty of information, sets good context before trying to explain anything, is full of comparative data among other animal-species, is funny every now & then, & in general will make a great reading.

Lets talk about sex baby, lets talk about evolution. Lets talk about hidden ovulation and menopause. Jared Diamond Tackles sex in a way only he can. He makes or for fun sex seem so boring when we could be discussing how humans have a limited number of eggs to turn into babies but some animals give birth until they die. This book was a short book but a long read. He throws in more than most people will know or understand about sex in their lifetime.

Diamond is a professor of physiology at UCLA and a well-regarded writer of popular science. The book is an expansion of sections from his earlier work, "The Third Chimpanzee." While the title is an eye-catcher, Diamond's topic is serious, namely, the evolution of human sexuality. Specifically, Diamond wonders why, relative to our closest genetic relatives (e.g. gorillas and chimps), our sexual behavior is so "strange"? Topics include the possibility of male lactation; the purpose of concealed ovulation; the point of recreational sex; and why women experience menopause. The book is written on the level of an introductory course in college biology and Diamond's exposition is clear. Diamond does a much better job asking questions than answering them, but motivating discussion is really the point of the book. Coming in at under 150 pages the book is best viewed as a springboard to further reading than an all-inclusive source of authority. Women may especially appreciate the chapter entitled "What are Men Good For?" but men may find the same a little disarming. While the book demonstrates that my role in the survival of the species is more attenuated than I hoped, I hasten to add that the book also explicates an important fact of nature and a surefire source of male pride: the average length of a man's penis is twice that of our gorilla counterparts. Diamond seeks an explanation for this fact in millions of years of evoultion. I, however, am perfectly content to limit the answer to: "That's how I roll, Mr. Diamond, that's just how I roll." I am not a huge fan of book clubs but I think this one would generate some excellent discussion between the two sexes. Married couples with children might also get a kick out if it but husbands should tread carefully.

"Why is sex fun?" is a very nice and enjoyable book. It presents interesting facts about animal (and human) sexuality which are highly likely to shift your view of sexuality to a different perspective. I really liked reading it and I learnt many interesting things from it. The absence (probably justified by the fact that this book was conceived as a "little book") of the complex social and environmental factors that are driving men, or women, to have extramarital sex left me kind of disappointed. Apart from this, I really recommend the book.

My rating is actually 4.5 of 5 stars.

A book looking into how human sex differs so much from other animals, and how it may have evolved to get there.

Diamond looks at many oddities of human nature when trying to answer his grand question- why is sex fun? Some things he examines are: lack of lactation in males, menopause, concealed ovulation, and how humans tend to have sex in private. Diamond's writing style is rather witty and easy to read. This book only contains theoretical answers to the questions it poses, which makes it far more interesting to ponder.

As a note Diamond is just examining heterosexual sex. Also, interestingly Diamond does not touch on any sensual or emotional aspects of why sex might be fun. This is a smaller book, so he doesn't go deep into any supporting information.

I would recommend this as a quick and fun popular science book.