Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality [Hardcover]

Lynn Margulis (Author), Dorion Sagan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0671633414 | ISBN-13: 978-0671633417 | Publication Date: August 1991

Drawing on psychoanalysis, philosophy, religion, linguistics, and politics, the authors trace the evolution of human sexual behavior and our complex feelings about sex. "A universally appealing subject presented with clarity, creativity, and conviction".--Booklist. Lynn Margulis is a leading evolutonary biologist and Sagan is a writer.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Primeval women's swollen breasts indicated lactation, pregnancy and fertility to excited males. In the author's scenario, women lost their estrus and developed permanently enlarged breasts, "an anatomy of deception," to tame and domesticate exploitative males whose interests were narrowly focused only on mating. Female orgasm, though not necessary for reproduction, may have conferred a survival advantage on prehistoric females, the authors further argue. In like fashion, Margulis and Sagan, coauthors of Microcosmos , use evolutionary biology to illuminate orgasm inequality, phallic worship, sexy clothing, sexual jealousy and violence alleged to be rooted in our far-distant past. This eloquent, stimulating exploration of the roots of human sexuality at times succumbs to reductionism, as when the authors ascribe human dating, honeymooning and marriage to the need to maximize reproduction.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Margulis, a noted evolutionary biologist, and coauthor Sagan use a metaphorical striptease and remove layers of human sexual development to reveal its evolutionary origins. Citing authoritative sources, they present new information regarding sperm competition, sexual anatomy, female orgasm, the family life of early humans, promiscuity, jealousy, and more. Margulis and Sagan explore the evolutionary roots of psychoanalytical sexual theories and pathologies, though they admit risking criticism with this approach. A welcome extension of their Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution ( LJ 6/15/86), this book offers the lay reader fascinating insights into the sexual ancestry that abides within us and the competitive forces that have molded us into our uniqueness. Highly recommended.
- Frank Reiser, Nassau Com munity Coll., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Summit Books (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671633414
• ISBN-13: 978-0671633417
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,911,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars We are who and what we were, February 20, 2004

By 

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality (Hardcover)

This book is a very mixed bag. It is based on two different concepts: psychoanalysis (Freud) and evolution (Darwin).

For the author, psychoanalysis is not a pseudo-science, but a real method for scientific research. All 'psycho' experiments can in all circumstances be corroborated. This is plain nonsense. Psychoanalysis is not a science, but that doesn't mean that it is without substance, as literature is not without substance.
Lynn Margulis accepts nearly all parts of Freud's theory, and cites without criticism the post-Freudians Lacan (for him, Freud is much more important than Darwin!) and Derrida. Their ridiculous semiotic open (!) texts are a magisterial example of what Jean Fourastie called 'conceptual deliriums', e.g. Lacan's definition of one of the basic elements of his theory, the phallus. One must read it, to believe the plain nonsense of his concepts.
For a severe criticism of Freud, I recommend 'The Memory Wars' by Frederick Crews.

The evolutionary part is better, although it contains a lot of 'ifs' and is more or less a compilation of and comments on citations of others, like S.J. Gould, D. Morris and G.C. Williams.
I prefer the works of Robin Baker, G.C. Williams, or even the 'Darwinian' part of Steven Pinker's 'How the mind works'.

A plus point is the humoristic style (e.g., how God made a lot of mistakes when he created man in his own image) and the popular treatment of a long time taboo subject.
Newcomers will still learn a lot about sex and penises.

3.0 out of 5 stars just read the evolution side, March 3, 2007

By 

L. SAXON - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality (Paperback)

This book is about evenly split between good science (both facts and speculation) regarding the origins and evolution of sex and what is frankly dreadful psychoanalytical speculation and storytelling.

Margulis is possibly the best we have regarding bacteria and the origins of sex and protists and the origins of meiosis. It is a shame that when it comes to human sexuality the authors get lost in a need to wax lyrical which undermines what is otherwise level-headed thinking. This reaches its worst with their inclusion of mother and phallic stories and obsessions of Freud, Lacan, Klein etc. The incongruity truly grates on the nerves!

But this book has to have at least three stars because of the evolutionary science. The authors' 'Origins of Sex' is far better than 'Mystery Dance' (though it too gets a little too lyrical and 'fluffy'). It is hard to believe that the authors can put together such good and bad subjects and thinking within the same book and it very nearly undermines their scientific authority.