What Do Women Want? Adventures in the Science of Female Desire

Suspicious of evolution-based assumptions about female desire—such as the views that women prefer monogamy and that women find emotional connections key to physical satisfaction—Bergner (The Other Side of Desire) looks to past and current scientific and social research, as well as interviews with everyday women, to uncover the truth behind female sexuality. In accessible and informative prose, the author addresses topics as wide-ranging as scientific studies of female rats and monkeys, the implications of biological differences between the sexes (does the fact that women have a limited quantity of reproductive material—as opposed to men’s regenerative supply of sperm—offer insight into the discrepancies between the male and female libidos?), the role of narcissism in desire, the effects of orgasm on the brain, and what happens when women—not men—are the ones to switch seats during a speed-dating session. Bergner isn’t afraid to take on the most taboo of subjects (such as rape fantasies), but he does so through a critical lens that seeks to reveal the why behind the phenomenon under investigation. This page-turning book will have readers questioning some of their most ingrained beliefs about women, men, society, and sex. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Endeavor. (June)