Why Women Have Sex, By Cindy Meston and David Buss
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Cindy Meston is a clinical psychologist, David Buss an evolutionary psychologist; together, they interviewed more than 1,000 women to discover why they have sex. Interviewees comprised women of varying ages and of heterosexual, bisexual and what the authors call "lesbian/gay" orientation.
Surely, one might think, the range of reasons why women have sex is pretty predictable. For pleasure, obviously, and for excitement, to have babies, to express love, as a barter for gifts, to seek higher status, as a duty, out of sympathy, and so on?
Well, yes. The authors claim to have discovered 237 different motivations, but they're all variations on familiar themes. Statements of the bleeding obvious abound: "Women seeking casual sex partners are more likely to sexualise their appearance." No, really? Occasionally an interesting question is posed: "Do women have sex for pleasure less than men?" The answer is unilluminating: "Not according to the women interviewed in this chapter." The banality of the insights is matched by that of the prose: "Although half these attempts failed, half..." (wait for it) "...succeeded." Let me offer reason 238 for having sex: it's more fun than reading this book.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments