|
|
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brick on brick a house was built,belly on belly torn asunder, 9 Feb 2006
Desmond Morris's book is more a medical, technical, gynaecological, symbolical description of the female body.
The text lacks the humour, the unexpected comparison or the brilliant exposures of 'The Naked Ape'.But, besides a 3000 year old Sumerian joke, one can still learn a lot about 'the most remarkable organism on the planet': e. g., why tongue-piercing can be very dangerous; why the base of the spine is calles sacrum; why the display of bare buttocks should drive away evil spirits; why legs reaching to the armpits are sexually attractive; why tears are bactericides; why Golden Lotus feet are sexually attractive in China; why hair is a species flag; why men's interest in women's breasts is not infantile? Or, what is the origin of belly dancing, the importance of the development of opposite thumbs, the law of Shifting Erogenous Zones, the function of eyebrow movements?
And, what symbolize blond hair, pubic hair, ears, a tiny waist and cheeks? The author stresses rightly the importance of religion in gender matters: 'In ancient times the great deity was always a woman. But, she underwent a disastrous sex change. The benign Mother Goddess became the authoritarian God the Father.' A totally other religious affair is the circumcision of women: 'A leading Moslem theologian has issued a fatwa against anyone opposing circumcision, ordering the death penalty on, at the very least, 85 % of the entire human race (non-Moslems).'
Desmond Morris castigates rightly 'the male diplomats and politicians of the United nations and other such impotent organizations, who take refuge behind convenient phrases like 'showing respect for local traditions and customs'.'
As he states: ' The real reason of reducing woman's sexual pleasures is the fact that it helps to subordinate them to their tyrannical male partners.' This book is a very worth-while read.
|
by Desmond Morris
by Desmond Morris
by Desmond Morris
by Desmond Morris
by Desmond Morris
