Description
The article discusses recent research that suggests that human female sexuality is not as static as previously thought. It argues that there are two different types of sexuality that women experience each cycle- estrus and extended sexuality. Estrus is the sexual phase that is typically associated with ovulation, and is characterized by heightened sexual desire and activity. Extended sexuality is present outside of estrus, and is used to fulfill other needs such as bonding and reproduction. The article provides a theoretical framework for understanding the evolution of human female sexuality, based on research from behavioral evolution and comparative biology.
Research conducted in the last fifteen years has placed in question many of the traditional conclusions scholars have formed about human female sexuality. Though conventional wisdom asserts that women's estrus has been evolutionarily lost, Randy Thornhill and Steven W. Gangestad assert that it is present, though concealed. Women, they propose, therefore exhibit two sexualities each ovulatory cycle-estrus and sexuality outside of the estrous phase, extended sexuality-that possess distinct functions. Synthesizing research in behavioral evolution and comparative biology, the authors provide a new theoretical framework for understanding the evolution of human female sexuality, one that is rooted in female sexuality and phylogeny across all vertebrate animals.
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