Sex Is Not a Natural ACT and Other Essays

Tiefler talks about sex with humor and compassion, revealing much about how sex is viewed in contemporary society, what our views about sex have to say about us, and perhaps most interestingly (and provocatively) provides the reader with a new interpretation of sex, as she attempts to provide it in a social and psychological context rather than a merely biological one. The essays are not always accessable for the lay reader, as a number of Tiefler's writings are scientific in nature. However her underlying assertion that sex and our attitudes and peceptions of it are constantly changing and and having meaning attatched to it was thought - provoking. A bit dense at points, the book is a worthwhile read, as it gives one much to think about our own attitudes on sex in particular and gender in general.

Leonore Tiefer writes, "what has irritated me most about the mystification surrounding sexuality has been the persistent but peculiar idea that `sex is natural' - that is, that sex is a simple and universal biological function that, without any training, all humans should experience, enjoy, and perform in roughly the same way." Tiefer points out that just as music, full of passion, thought and rhythm, is more than fingers on a piano, sexuality, produced through human interactions and situations, is more than biology. With analogies such as this, Tiefer puts into context historical views on sexuality in order to explore contemporary sexual attitudes. By toppling the long-standing belief that sexuality is biology, Tiefer hopes to relive the anxiety around sexuality. Her essays, full of humor and on-target pop culture references, help explain many of the assumptions that hinder the struggle for reproductive freedom.