Jan. 17, 2012 at 2:46pm with 8 notes
sexismfeminismthe guardianguardianbookwhy women have sexwomensexsexualityemancipation
“
Meston and Buss have interviewed 1,006 women from all over the world about their sexual motivation, and in doing so they have identified 237 different reasons why women have sex. Not 235. Not 236. But 237. And what are they? From the reams of confessions, it emerges that women have sex for physical, emotional and material reasons; to boost their self-esteem, to keep their lovers, or because they are raped or coerced. Love? That’s just a song. We are among the bad apes now.
—

From the Guardian article Why Women Have Sex

I just need to add that the book seems particularly stupid. For two psychologists to set apart women as having reasons for sex (such as, keeping your partner from cheating on you or getting him to mow the lawn) creates an automatic juxtaposition suggesting that men do not have any ulterior reasons ever. I am reading the book through the review article (its jokey tone really doesn’t cover the problematics of the book at all) so I don’t know what the authors are looking for or what they conclude. But I think that the fact that they asked this question, rather than “why do people have sex” is jarring.

One commenter said same thing could do with: why women have dinner, why women use skirts, why women have a car, etc…..

and I sort of agree. Women’s sex is, and should still be, a big deal in some ways -keeping abuse, human trafficking and rape culture in mind- but this book does not seem to be thinking along those lines.

  1. tokyo4dinner posted this