Understandably enough, our societies pay vast attention to the idea of ‘sexiness’. Far more questionably, they tempt us to believe that it might be easy to understand what this quality consists of. The prevailing theory is that attractiveness resides in physical characteristics suggestive of reproductive health: bright eyes, youthful skin, ample hips and melanin-rich hair.
But this analysis too quickly assumes that it might be simple to know what sex really aims at. Unlike most other living beings, our biological drives sit alongside, and at points take second place to, a range of emotional priorities…
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