Varieties of sexual experience
Subtitle: an anthropological perspective on human sexuality
By: Suzanne G. Frayser.
Publisher: HRAF Press; Human Relations Area Files
Published: 1985
Place of publication: New Haven, Conn
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 546
Subjects: Sex customs -- Cross-cultural studies; Sex (Biology)
Notes: Bibliography: p. 511-527.
"Ethnographic bibliography": p. 495-510.
Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Problems of getting it together -- Basic questions about variety. The problem of elucidating the type and extent -- Of variation : systematic description -- The problems of pattern and explanation : a model -- Pursuit of an integrated model -- Principles of evolutionary theory. Darwin, natural selection, and sexual selection -- Mendel, genetics, and a synthetic theory of evolution -- Sexual reproduction. Typical features of sexually reproducing animals -- Selective pressures for sexual reproduction -- The mammalian contribution -- The primate contribution -- The human family : hominidae. The significance of bipedal locomotion and increased brain size -- Male-oriented views of the transition -- Female-oriented views of the transition -- Distinctive elements of human sexuality -- Prenatal sexuality. Chromosomal sex -- Fetal gonadal sex -- Fetal hormonal sex -- Postnatal genital dimorphism -- Learning sexual differentiation. Division of labor -- Child Training -- Incest taboos -- Puberty and adolescence. The biological baseline -- Sociocultural dimensions of puberty and adolescence -- Social attention and cultural interpretations of the onset of puberty -- Initiations as rites of passage -- The symbolic load of initiation ceremonies -- Variations in the occurrence of initiation ceremonies : a psychological view -- Variations in the occurrence of initiation ceremonies : a social view -- Variations in the occurrence of initiation ceremonies : an interdisciplinary view -- Spatial marking of adolescents : sleeping arrangements -- Postpubertal differentiation. Physical appearance -- Eating arrangements -- Sexual interaction. The nature of and the occasions for intercourse -- Cross-cultural variation in the sexual response cycle -- The biological baseline -- Sociocultural aspects of invitation -- Sociocultural aspects of sexual stimulation -- Sociocultural aspects of the sexual response cycle : coital positions -- Sociocultural dimensions of choosing a sexual partner. The overall view -- Premarital restrictions -- Age at marriage -- Extramarital restrictions -- The patterning of premarital and extramarital restrictions -- Hormones and sexual response : adulthood through the climacteric. The menstrual cycle : biological aspects -- The social significance of regular menstruation -- Hormones, moods, and sexual activity : the premenstrual syndrome -- The impact of social factors on the menstrual cycle -- Age and sexual functioning : the biological baseline of the climacteric -- Common elements in the sexual responses of aging males and females -- Definition of a reproductive relationship : marriage spouse selection. General guidelines -- Implicit consequences of the incest taboo -- Explicit criteria for spouse selection : kinship -- The impact of physical space : community marriage patterns -- Age at marriage -- Restrictions on the number of partners : monogamy and polygamy -- Restrictions on the number of partners: divorce, widowhood, remarriage, and diachronic marriage -- Divorce and remarriage -- Ease of divorce -- Difficulty of remarriage -- Pressures against divorce : considerations of children and property -- Widow remarriage -- Restrictions on partners for reproductive relationships: a summary -- The social investment in marriage. Restrictions on an individual’s consent to marry -- Framework of a marital relationship : the rights transferred at marriage and the factors that finalize the union -- The marriage celebration. Continuity of social interest : postmarital residence -- Continuity of social interest: eating and sleeping arrangements -- Summary : social involvement in marriage -- Guidelines for a reproductive relationship : conception, pregnancy, and birth -- Responsibility for conception and barrenness. The biological baseline : a scientific view -- Other beliefs about conception -- The importance of children to a marriage : alternatives to barrenness -- Preference for children. Expressed preference for children -- Preference for children : contraception -- Abortion and infanticide -- Preference for children : summary -- Pregnancy. The biological baseline -- Pregnancy restrictions -- Labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Birth and lactation : the biological baseline -- Sociocultural aspects of birth : where birth occurs -- Sociocultural aspects of the postpartum period : lactation and weaning -- Sociocultural aspects of the postpartum period : restrictions -- Sociocultural aspects of the postpartum period : celebrations -- Sexual restrictions and reproductive relationships. Premarital and extramarital rules -- Implications of sexual regulation for reproductive relationships -- The degree of coincidence between sexual and reproductive relationships -- The importance of a marriage celebration -- The importance of bride-price -- The importance to marriage of sexual access and of the birth of children. Grounds for divorce -- Alternatives to barrenness -- Summary : sexual rules and reproductive relationships -- Two examples of the model of women’s sexual and reproductive relationships -- The relevance of kinship. Cultural expressions of parenthood in unilineal systems -- Sexual restrictions, reproductive relationships, and unilinearity -- The relevance of residence -- The relevance of environment -- The relevance of reproductive strategies -- A holistic perspective -- The making of a tradition : sexual values and behavior in Nineteenth-Century America -- Changes that transformed the traditional pattern -- Conclusion.