Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution.Leonard Shlain. Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Viking, 2003. Leonard Shlain, the best-selling author of The Alphabet Versus the Goddess and Art and Physics, asserts in this book that major changes in female sexuality are responsible for the way human evolution essentially separated from other animals 150,000 years ago. More specifically, Shlain argues that bipedalism, narrow pelvises, and extremely large fetal heads brought on a need for our species to undergo major changes. Because of a serious threat of dying during childbirth women were compelled to observe the connection between sex and agonizing labor nine months later. But, first, they had to learn how to succeed in the future. Women lost estrus estrus Period in the sexual cycle of female mammals, except the higher primates, during which they are in heat (ready to accept a male for mating). Some animals (e.g., dogs) have only one heat during a breeding season; others (e.g. (heat), acquired a menses menses /men·ses/ (men´sez) the monthly flow of blood from the female genital tract. men·ses n. accompanied by heavy bleeding and painful cramps, and began to experience orgasms--necessary evolutionary adaptations that allowed them to become aware of the concept of time. Women then instructed men on the idea of "foresight," and men used this notion to become earth's most powerful predator. Men learned, with great trepidation, that they were mortal. But, after figuring out their part in fertilization, men discovered they could live on through their progeny. These notions changed how men interacted with women and why they took on the roles of husbands and fathers. According to Shlain, the impetus for writing this book was a feeling that he had incompletely dealt with the subjects of global misogyny misogyny /mi·sog·y·ny/ (mi-soj´i-ne) hatred of women. mi·sog·y·ny n. Hatred of women. mi·sog and patriarchy in The Alphabet Versus the Goddess. In that book he hypothesized that the invention of writing, particularly alphabetic writing, reconfigured the brain of anyone who learned the new skill in such a way as to reinforce the masculine "animus Animus - ["Constraint-Based Animation: The Implementation of Temporal Constraints in the Animus System", R. Duisberg, PhD Thesis U Washington 1986]. " at the expense of the feminine "anima anima /an·i·ma/ (an´i-mah) [L.] 1. the soul. 2. in jungian terminology, the unconscious, or inner being, of the individual, as opposed to the personality presented to the world (persona); by extension, used to ." Reading and writing strengthened the power of the left brain over the right brain and this internal neurological shift upended culture and manifested in the disappearance of goddesses, the restraining of women's rights, and a general disdain for image information. Whether you agree or disagree with Shlain's assertions on the impacts of various factors on human relationships, his iconoclastic i·con·o·clast n. 1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions. 2. One who destroys sacred religious images. thinking will "tickle your cortex" and, perhaps, alter your worldview. REVIEW BY MARTIN H. LEVINSON, PH.D. |
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