Well, you’ve seen the title of this book, which I assume clues you in to what the book is about, so I will follow the author’s lead and not mince my words when talking about it. Jesse Bering is a professor of evolutionary psychology with a PhD in all things sex. Being a gay man, he was drawn to researching topics of sex, reproduction, human adaptations, and how our uniquely human anatomy and psychology evolved to perform very specific adaptive functions. He holds nothing back in his descriptions, taking the scientific approach to discussing the specifics of reproduction, sexuality, psychology, belief, and humans as animals with adaptive behaviors and strategies when it comes to spreading our genes. Necessarily, while doing so, Bering brings an element of comedy to this series of essays, though this does not detract from the science he shares with the reader.

Speaking of the science, there are several instances throughout the book where Bering summarizes studies of importance which I found engaging and stimulating rather than dry and lengthy as in other books. The science adds to the narrative and fills in between Bering’s own experiences and research. Each chapter is an essay in itself, which makes each topic comprehensible, though there is the obvious common thread throughout of how human behavior and anatomy are adaptive in an evolutionary sense.

Among the titillating topics in this book, you will find essays on penis and testicle shape and size, genital hair texture, pedophilia, zoophilia, fetishism, female ejaculation, repressed homophobia, gay sex roles, and free will. Despite the general light tone throughout the book, there are also essays on more sobering topics such as increased rates of suicide by gay young people. I am a curious, accepting, and not easily shocked person, so I found this book ripe with fascinating information about topics most people wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing in public. I did find myself rolling up my car windows at stoplights though, lest the neighboring car hear Bering read in his nonchalant voice that gay “tops” are more aggressive than “bottoms,” that most people classified as pedophiles may actually be hebephiles, and that suicide may be have evolved to be adaptive in certain situations. In any case, window up or down, I learned a lot more than I ever expected about my own and my fellow humans’ sex lives.

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Created Mar 26, 2019 at 4:12pm • Submit your own review...