“In the 1970s, a psychologist and neuro­endocrinologist named Kim Wallen noticed that the sexual behavior of rhesus monkeys was affected by the size of their cages. In close quarters the monkeys went at it like mad, and the male seemed to initiate sexual activity, which in turn seemed to confirm the prevailing idea that female monkeys were entirely sexually passive.

”But in larger cages, as in the wild, the females were the ones who chose their partners and initiated sex by following the males around and touching them demonstratively. The small cages, with their forced proximity, reduced monkey sex life to intercourse, obviating all the mating rituals in which female lust was the essential factor that set sex in motion. After Wallen’s observations, primatologists started seeing evidence that many kinds of female primates initiated sex, while their male counterparts pretty much sat around waiting for the ladies to take an interest in their erections.

“Are we that kind of primate?”

-- Elaine Blair, reviewing Daniel Bergner's “What Do Women Want?” in The New York Times Book Review. This piece should win awards for its headline (“I'll Have What She's Having”) and its two illustrations: the eye-catching cover illustration by Malike Favre and the supersmart inside illustration by Luci Gutiérrez.

Tags: Sex