Why Women Have Sex: Understanding Sexual Motivation - From Adventure to Revenge (And Everything in Between) »

Cindy M. Meston is one of the world’s leading researchers on women’s sexuality and a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she directs the Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory, a cutting-edge lab on women’s sexual experience. David M. Buss, one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology, is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of several books, including The Evolution of Desire and The Dangerous Passion. Their jointly authored article, “Why Humans Have Sex,” garnered international attention when it was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

An unparalleled exploration of the mysteries underlying women’s sexuality that rivals the culture-shifting Kinsey Report, from two of America’s leading research psychologists

Publishers Weekly

Bringing together some of the interesting (and some not so interesting) research on women and sex, the author explain how Brown University researchers found that how someone smells is the single most important factor in a woman's choice of lover; Brazilian researchers discovered that women are aroused by men with whom they are genetically compatible. Collating such findings with their own online survey of 1,000 women of diverse backgrounds, the coauthors, psychology professors at the University of Texas at Austin, also discovered that women are sexually motivated by self-confident partners with a good sense of humor. Some women have sex out of feelings of obligation or revenge, to satisfy their curiosity, gain experience and enhance their self-esteem. Sexual activity can also provide health benefits—to relieve migraines and menstrual cramps, reduce the risk of endometriosis and prevent age-related vaginal atrophy. Although solidly researched, this book often treads familiar terrain and comes to fairly obvious conclusions. such as that women have sex to give or get love or a feeling of emotional connection and to enjoy the sensations of sexual arousal and orgasm. (Oct.)