Sex, Time and Power

Description

This book offers a tantalizing answer to an age-old question: Why did big-brained Homo sapiens suddenly emerge some 150,000 years ago? Drawing on an awesome breadth of research, Shlain shows how, long ago, the narrowness of the newly bipedal human female’s pelvis and the increasing size of infants’ heads precipitated a crisis for the species. Natural selection allowed for the adaptation of the human female to this environmental stress by reconfiguring her hormonal cycles, entraining them with the periodicity of the moon. The results, however, did much more than ensure our existence; they imbued women with the concept of time, and gave them control over sex—a power that males sought to reclaim. And the possibility of achieving immortality through heirs drove men to construct patriarchal cultures that went on to dominate so much of human history. From the nature of courtship to the evolution of language, this brilliant and wide-ranging exploration stimulates new thinking about very old matters.

First Sentence

She died an agonizingly slow and painful death.

Description

"Long ago, due to the narrowness of her bipedal pelvis and the increasing size of her infants' heads, the human female began to experience high childbirth death rates, precipitating a crisis for the species. Natural selection adapted her to this unique environmental stress by drastically reconfiguring her hormonal cycles. Her estrus disappeared and menses mysteriously entrained with the periodicity of the moon. Women formulated the concept of a month, which in turn allowed them to make the connection between sex and pregnancy. Upon learning the majestic secret of time, these ancestral females then gained the power to refuse sex when they were ovulating. Men were forced to confront women who possessed a mind of their own." "Women taught men about time, and men used this knowledge to become the planet's most fearsome predator. Unfortunately, they also discovered that they were mortal. Men then invented religions to soften the certainty of death. Subsequently, they belatedly grasped the functions of sex. The possibility of achieving a kind of immortality through heirs drove men to construct patriarchal cultures whose purpose was to control women's reproductive choices." "Leonard Shlain explores how these archaic insights about sex, time, and power dramatically altered all subsequent human culture, from the nature of courtship to the origin of marriage to the evolution of language, creating the conditions for two people to love each other more deeply and longer than any other animal. Sex, Time, and Power is a compelling book that challenges accepted views of human sexuality and is sure to stimulate new thinking about old matters."--Jacket.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human EvolutionHardcoverViking Adult2003-08-14
• Sex, Time and PowerPaperbackViking2003-01-01
• Sex, Time, and PowerAudio CassetteAudio Literature2004-03-26
• Sex, Time, and PowerPenguin (Non-Classics)2004-07-27
• Sex, Time, and PowerElectronic resourcePenguin Group USA, Inc.2008-01-01