Myth and Sexuality (Meridian) [Paperback]

Jamake Highwater (Author)

Book Description

Series: Meridian | Publication Date: February 1, 1991

In this fascinating study of the ways in which our ideas about sex and gender are shaped, Jamake Highwater shows that far from being the most natural force of our lives, sexuality is the one most susceptible to cultural influences. Each culture designates various practices as appropriate or inappropriate, moral or immoral, healthy or unhealthy. Author's TV appearances include the PBS series Six Great Ideas and The Power of Myth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Our bodies are the cosmos," asserts Highwater; each society's fundamental values and myths predetermine its conception of the human body and sexuality. To classical Greeks, the body was an idealized locus of beauty; to pioneer sexologists influenced by the mechanistic worldview of science, the body was a pleasure-pain machine; in our own era of consumer capitalism, the body is a sexualized commodity. Author of many books on Native American culture, Highwater attempts to map a mythic history of the body in this ambitious, imaginative essay. From egalitarian Neolithic worshippers of the Great Mother through the Greeks' dethroning of women, to the pervasive "sex-negative" attitudes said to stem from Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian beliefs, we have lost any sense of the body as spiritual, the author provocatively suggests, in a book that will appeal to fans of Joseph Campbell.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Highwater outlines a brief social history of sex in the West in order to illustrate his thesis that a society's mythology derives largely from its view of the human body and sexuality. Beginning with the earliest peoples (for whom the body and all nature were essentially female), he traces the rise of patriarchy, with its glorification of male sexuality; and goes on to explain how, among Christians, the body became the locus of original sin. Later on, the Romantics produced a still different view of sex as (ultimately doomed) pleasure, which was superceded by the Enlightenment notion of the body (and the universe) as machine. Particularly compelling is his discussion of capitalism's belief in the body as a product from which profits can be made. Anthropologist Highwater (author of 20 books) relies heavily on the work of Joseph Campbell and Elaine Pagels; however, this synthesis would have benefited from a few footnotes. Nevertheless, it is beautifully written, provocative, and highly recommended.
- Beverly Miller, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Plume (February 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452010691
• ISBN-13: 978-0452010697
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Everything I needed to know about sexuality, I learned from myths", January 27, 2006

By 

Literate Kentuckian "Literate Kentuckian" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Myth and Sexuality (Hardcover)

Highwater's "Myths & Sexuality" is as intriguing a read as the title suggests. Normally when people hear the word "myth" they think of Greek myths, but Highwater is all inclusive here. He bases his chapters on tales and accounts from not only Greek myths, but also stories from Celtic myth, medieval legends, the Garden of Eden, Slavic mythology, and more.

You don't need to be a mythology expert to enjoy this book. Highwater simply explores some of the themes from such myths in terms of sexuality. The book covers a wide range of attitudes and thoughts of sexuality, from pre-Christian times up through the Industrial Revolution and beyond.

Sex is so suppressed in social conversation that we really don't take the time to stop and think about it with the curious nature we have---if you try to have a conversation about sex or sexuality, some may think of it as "dirty" or "perverted" or scoff at you, but Highwater shows that sexuality is an utterly fascinating combination of human nature, cultural changes, and social influence.

This is an utterly fascinating read, and it has certainly opened up my mind to ways of thinking about sexuality in terms which I had never even thought of before.

Pick it up, and you won't be able to put it down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid/Factual, March 15, 2000

By 

Douglas R Rhodes (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Myth and Sexuality (Meridian) (Paperback)

Highwater's view of sexuality through the ages struck me right at home. Here is a factually based and compellingly written history of where those burning urges come from, and perhaps a chance to piece together where they may go from here.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars disturbing, March 27, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Myth and Sexuality (Meridian) (Paperback)

the description of sexuality and how it evolved through the ages is very intriguing, though i found the chapter 'body as weapon' a bit disturbing; however, i applaud highwater on his completeness. i was very pleased with the objectiveness that he was able to talk about myths and not just confine them to the traditional greek and roman myths that we usually associate that word with. you truly have to have an open mind to read this book. it will really make you question your own sexuality and why you believe what you believe.