The Origins and Role of Same-Sex Relations in Human Societies
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Description
This groundbreaking work draws on a vast range of research into human sexuality to demonstrate that homosexuality is not a phenomenon limited to a small minority of society, but is an aspect of a complex sexual harmony that the human race inherited from its animal ancestors. Through a survey of the patterns of sexual expression found among animals and among societies around the world, and an examination of the functional role homosexual behavior has played among animal species and human societies alike, the author arrives at some provocative conclusions: that a homosexual or bisexual phase is a normal part of sexual development, that same-sex relations play an important balancing role in regulating human reproduction, that many societies have institutionalized homosexual traditions in the past, and that the harsh condemnation of homosexuality in Western society is a relatively recent phenomenon, unique among world societies throughout history. This well researched and meticulously documented book is the first that integrates into a coherent picture the startling revelations about human sexuality coming from the recent work of sexual researchers, psychologists, anthropologists and historians. The view that emerges, of an ambisexual human species whose complex sexual harmony is being thwarted by the imposition of an artificial understanding of nature, represents a new way of thinking about sex.
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Product details
- Paperback | 478 pages
- 175.26 x 248.92 x 30.48mm | 812g
- 03 Oct 2011
- McFarland & Co Inc
- Jefferson, NC, United States
- English
- notes, bibliography, index
- 0786469269
- 9780786469260
- 1,110,722
Review quote
recommended--Choice; ""presents an exhaustive review of the acceptance of gay and lesbian behavior in indigenous cultures, the ancient world, and medieval society""--C&RL News
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About James Neill
Independent writer James Neill has spent 12 years researching the role of homosexuality in society and in nature. A consultant in the information services industry, he worked previously in news and public affairs in Washington, D.C. as a writer and editor.
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