Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Sex and Power PDF full book. Access full book title Sex and Power by Rita Banerji. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Rita Banerji Publisher: Penguin UK ISBN: 8184758944 Category : Literary Collections Languages : en Pages : 486
Book Description
‘Sex underlies human existence, and if human life is sacred, how can sex not be?’ As squeamish as India is today about sex, this is also the land where queens once copulated with head horses at religious ceremonies, where the art of love-making was declared the revelation of the gods and recorded in elaborate detail in the kama sutras and prostitution was a form of sacred offering at temples adorned with erotic sculptures. Using India as a paradigm, Rita Banerji illustrates that sexual morality is not an absolute but a facet of living that undergoes periodic upheavals. She delineates four major periods in Indian history when there were significant shifts in the collective social perception of sex and sexuality, and the associated customs and beliefs. What causes this revision in sexual ethos? To explain this, Sex and Power proposes a modified version of Nietzsche’s slave versus master morality theory. The theory, which is tested against the dynamics of each of the four defined periods, establishes that the moral overview of any given period is determined not by a set of pre-existing ethics but by the existent power structure of the period in question. The accepted moral code actually serves the party in power. How would this theory play out in the context of India today? Banerji examines this question at length as one of extreme urgency, and concludes that the three most burning issues facing the country today—population explosion, AIDS and female genocide—are the manifestations of a collective sexual malfunctioning of society and need to be redressed in the context of an existent social and economic power hierarchy.
Author: Rita Banerji Publisher: Penguin UK ISBN: 8184758944 Category : Literary Collections Languages : en Pages : 486
Book Description
‘Sex underlies human existence, and if human life is sacred, how can sex not be?’ As squeamish as India is today about sex, this is also the land where queens once copulated with head horses at religious ceremonies, where the art of love-making was declared the revelation of the gods and recorded in elaborate detail in the kama sutras and prostitution was a form of sacred offering at temples adorned with erotic sculptures. Using India as a paradigm, Rita Banerji illustrates that sexual morality is not an absolute but a facet of living that undergoes periodic upheavals. She delineates four major periods in Indian history when there were significant shifts in the collective social perception of sex and sexuality, and the associated customs and beliefs. What causes this revision in sexual ethos? To explain this, Sex and Power proposes a modified version of Nietzsche’s slave versus master morality theory. The theory, which is tested against the dynamics of each of the four defined periods, establishes that the moral overview of any given period is determined not by a set of pre-existing ethics but by the existent power structure of the period in question. The accepted moral code actually serves the party in power. How would this theory play out in the context of India today? Banerji examines this question at length as one of extreme urgency, and concludes that the three most burning issues facing the country today—population explosion, AIDS and female genocide—are the manifestations of a collective sexual malfunctioning of society and need to be redressed in the context of an existent social and economic power hierarchy.
Author: Leonard Shlain Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1101200391 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 468
Book Description
As in the bestselling The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain’s provocative new book promises to change the way readers view themselves and where they came from. Sex, Time, and Power offers a tantalizing answer to an age-old question: Why did big-brained Homo sapiens suddenly emerge some 150,000 years ago? The key, according to Shlain, is female sexuality. Drawing on an awesome breadth of research, he shows how, long ago, the narrowness of the newly bipedal human female’s pelvis and the increasing size of infants’ heads precipitated a crisis for the species. Natural selection allowed for the adaptation of the human female to this environmental stress by reconfiguring her hormonal cycles, entraining them with the periodicity of the moon. The results, however, did much more than ensure our existence; they imbued women with the concept of time, and gave them control over sex—a power that males sought to reclaim. And the possibility of achieving immortality through heirs drove men to construct patriarchal cultures that went on to dominate so much of human history. From the nature of courtship to the evolution of language, Shlain’s brilliant and wide-ranging exploration stimulates new thinking about very old matters.
Author: Nick Lane Publisher: OUP Oxford ISBN: 9780191513015 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 370
Book Description
Mitochondria are tiny structures located inside our cells that carry out the essential task of producing energy for the cell. They are found in all complex living things, and in that sense, they are fundamental for driving complex life on the planet. But there is much more to them than that. Mitochondria have their own DNA, with their own small collection of genes, separate from those in the cell nucleus. It is thought that they were once bacteria living independent lives. Their enslavement within the larger cell was a turning point in the evolution of life, enabling the development of complex organisms and, closely related, the origin of two sexes. Unlike the DNA in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed down exclusively (or almost exclusively) via the female line. That's why it has been used by some researchers to trace human ancestry daughter-to-mother, to 'Mitochondrial Eve'. Mitochondria give us important information about our evolutionary history. And that's not all. Mitochondrial genes mutate much faster than those in the nucleus because of the free radicals produced in their energy-generating role. This high mutation rate lies behind our ageing and certain congenital diseases. The latest research suggests that mitochondria play a key role in degenerative diseases such as cancer, through their involvement in precipitating cell suicide. Mitochondria, then, are pivotal in power, sex, and suicide. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Nick Lane brings together the latest research findings in this exciting field to show how our growing understanding of mitochondria is shedding light on how complex life evolved, why sex arose (why don't we just bud?), and why we age and die. This understanding is of fundamental importance, both in understanding how we and all other complex life came to be, but also in order to be able to control our own illnesses, and delay our degeneration and death. 'An extraordinary account of groundbreaking modern science... The book abounds with interesting and important ideas.' Mark Ridley, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
Author: Anastasia Powell Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1139489879 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 223
Book Description
Sex, Power and Consent: Youth Culture and the Unwritten Rules draws on the real world stories and experiences of young women and young men - as told in their own words - regarding love, sex, relationships and negotiating consent. Judicious reference to feminist and sociological theory underpins explicit connections between young people's lived experience and current international debates. Issues surrounding youth sex within popular culture, sexuality education and sexual violence prevention are thoroughly explored. In a clear, incisive and eminently readable manner, Anastasia Powell develops a compelling framework for understanding the 'unwritten rules' and the gendered power relations in which sexual negotiations take place. Ultimately Sex, Power and Consent provides practical strategies for young people, and those working with them, toward the prevention of sexual violence.
Author: Scilla Elworthy Publisher: Element Books, Limited ISBN: 9781852309565 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 356
Book Description
Exploring themes as diverse as ancient Goddess religions, nuclear weapons decision-making and female circumcision, this book examines traditional ways in which power has been abused as a tool to dominate others - physically, sexually, politically and spiritually. Against this background the book outlines an alternative path which the author calls hara power. Hara power refers to the synthesis of physical and spiritual energy, and is also the synthesis of the masculine and feminine within each of us.
Author: Hector A. Garcia Publisher: ISBN: 1633885143 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 256
Book Description
An evolutionary psychologist traces the roots of political divisions back to our primate ancestors and male-dominated social hierarchies. Through the lens of evolutionary science, this book offers a novel perspective on why we hold our political ideas, and why they are so often in conflict. Drawing on examples from across the animal kingdom, clinical psychologist Hector A. Garcia reveals how even the most complex political processes can be influenced by our basic drives to survive and reproduce--including the policies we back, whether we are liberal or conservative, and whether we are inspired or repelled by the words of a president. The author demonstrates how our political orientations derive from an ancestral history of violent male competition, surprisingly influencing how we respond to issues as wide-ranging as affirmative action, women's rights, social welfare, abortion, foreign policy, and even global warming. Critically, the author shows us how our instinctive political tribalism can keep us from achieving stable, functioning societies, and offers solutions for rising above our ancestral past.
Author: Tiffiany Howard Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan ISBN: 9781137363688 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 205
Book Description
Sex, Power, and Politics is a deconstruction of the historic femme fatale that serves to highlight the women who occupied perceived subordinate roles and how they were systematically calculating and strategic in the utilization of their femininity and sexuality to engage in politics, influence powerful men, and ultimately shape history.
Author: Göran Therborn Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134494599 Category : Family & Relationships Languages : en Pages : 392
Book Description
The institution of the family changed hugely during the course of the twentieth century. In this major new work, Göran Therborn provides a global history and sociology of the family as an institution and of politics within the family, focusing on three dimensions of family relations: on the rights and powers of fathers and husbands; on marriage, cohabitation and extra-marital sexuality; and on population policy. Therborn's empirical analysis uses a multi-disciplinary approach to show how the major family systems of the world have been formed and developed. Therborn concludes by assessing what changes the family might see during the next century. This book will be essential reading for anybody with an interest in either the sociology or the history of the family.
Author: Gretchen Rubin Publisher: Beyond Words/Atria Books ISBN: Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
The author dissects the tactics of Warren Buffett, Muhammad Ali, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Nixon, Princess Diana, and other successful people, to reveal how power plays are made in the real world.
Author: Rita Banerji
Author: Rita Banerji
Author: Leonard Shlain
Author: Christopher R. Agnew
Author: Nick Lane
Author: Anastasia Powell
Author: Scilla Elworthy
Author: Hector A. Garcia
Author: Tiffiany Howard
Author: Göran Therborn
Author: Gretchen Rubin