Discovering Human Sexuality

About this book

This is an alternative version of Simon LeVay and Janice Baldwin's acclaimed textbook, Human Sexuality, which is now in its fourth edition. This version has been prepared in response to requests for a text that maintains the evidence-based approach, readability, and production values of the original, but that is more accessible to students lacking a strong background in biology.

The present text is about 90 pages shorter than the original and has 2 fewer chapters. Topics such as evolution, sex hormones, the neural mechanisms of sex, sexual development, and the biology of sexually transmitted diseases are presented in a briefer, less technical fashion than in the original. Conversely, the coverage of some psychological and sociological aspects of sexuality has been expanded. Throughout the book, the authors have taken pains to use language and terminology that is comprehensible to students of diverse backgrounds. What shines through is the richness of ideas about human sexuality that only an interdisciplinary collaboration can provide.

Contents

1. Perspectives on Sexuality
2. Women's Bodies
3. Men's Bodies
4. Sex and Gender Differences
5. Attraction, Arousal, and Response
6. Sexual Behavior
7. Sexual Relationships
8. Fertility, Pregnancy, and Childbirth
9. Contraception and Abortion
10. Sexuality across the Life Span: From Birth to Adolescence
11. Sexuality across the Life Span: Adulthood
12. Sexual Orientation
13. Atypical Sexuality
14. Sexual Disorders
15. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
16. Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Partner Violence
17. Sex as a Commodity

Customer Reviews

Biography

Simon LeVay, Ph.D. is a British-born neuroscientist turned science writer and teacher. He was educated at Cambridge University and the University of Göttingen, Germany. In 1971, he moved to the United States. He has conducted research at Harvard Medical School and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and has taught at Harvard, the University of California, San Diego, and Stanford University. He is best known for a 1991 study that described a difference in brain structure between heterosexual and homosexual men; this study helped spark a wealth of new research on the biology of sexual orientation. LeVay is the author or coauthor of nine books, some in the area of human sexuality and others on a broader range of scientific topics. His most recent book is When Science Goes Wrong (2008).

Janice Baldwin, Ph.D. and John Baldwin, Ph.D. are sociologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They have been collaborators in numerous studies and coauthored many articles in the area of sexuality and sex education, as well as the textbook Behavior Principles in Everyday Life. John Baldwin's latest book is Ending the Science Wars (2008). The Baldwins co-teach an undergraduate Human Sexuality course that is regularly voted Best Course at UCSB. They also teach an advanced seminar course on the same topic. The Baldwins have been named Best Professors on several occasions.