Bonk: Science of Sexuality

Mary Roach’s book provides an insightful, if uncomfortable for some, look at the world of sex research. From the outset, it is clear that the goal of the book is not to provide a unique or novel theory of sex research regarding genitalia or orgasms; instead, the author’s purpose is to provide a holistic, engaging account of sexual physiology — that is, “when happens, and why, and how to make it happen better” when it comes to human sexuality. In this way, Roach presents research studies, cases of sexual physiology, and anecdotes that round the two out, describing sexual physiology in a way that is accessible to the layperson.

As the description of her book states, Roach explores the research that “has been going on for centuries, behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, Alfred Kinsey‘s attic and, more recently, MRI centers, pig farms, and sex-toy R&D labs”. The book explores this research into sexual physiology from what the author calls the “pioneers of human sexual response” to more recent research findings regarding hormones, masturbation, the female orgasm, and simply what makes great sex.

The author‘s perspective is largely descriptive rather than critical, and is obviously oriented toward providing a holistic 7 yet entertaining 7 overviews of sexual physiology and recent research regarding the study of sexuality. In this way, while Roach’s book is certainly informative and entertaining, it is far from the in-depth literature review one would find in a peer-reviewed academic journal article. In order to assess the book as a whole, this short discussion paper provides both an evaluation of the information and research presented by Roach and digs deeper into one of the research areas addressed by the book — that is, the question of the female orgasm.

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Overall, this response paper shows that while Roach’s book is largely entertaining, it skates over some of the larger research areas in sexual physiology, specifically when it comes to the female orgasm. The paper argues, then, that the main value in Roach’s book is in overcoming the stigma of research into human sexuality and sexual physiology, as it challenges the status quo on this front.

To support this, the paper turns to both Roach’s work and additional research on the topic assessment 8r Response Among many other research areas, Roach examines the question of the female orgasm as it relates to ‘good’ sex, fertility rates, and satisfaction. From the outset (in her cleverly titled ‘Foreplay‘, instead of Foreword), the author states “Physiologists and people who study sexual dysfunction still have plenty to learn about female arousal and orgasm”. In this way, Roach devotes much of her book to dispelling myths surrounding the female orgasm and providing alternative research regarding its purpose, form, and function, For instance, in one chapter, the author discusses the female orgasm and human fertility. As she states of the chapter, it is about “female orgasm and whether it serves a purpose outside the realm of pleasure. What is accepted dogma in the pig community 7 that the uterine contractions causes by stimulation and/or orgasm draw in the sperm and boost the odds of conception — was for hundreds of years the subject of lively debate in medical circles”.

In other words, Roach specifically discusses the female orgasm as it relates to fertility; however, in this fourth chapter, she only does so in the context of how scientists and farmers alike have studied the fertility of pigs. This makes it a relatively limited discussion and does not add much at all to the body of knowledge when it comes to the human female orgasm and human fertility. This is the main limitation of Roach‘s work, as discussed below more specifically, as the crux of her discussion of the female orgasm and fertility, the author focuses on the study of pigs and boars. While scientific, this focus is problematic on two fronts: first, it limits the scope of the topic to something not exactly relatable to human sexuality, and, second, it exchanges more robust physiological studies on the topic in favor of a funnier, more relatable topic to appeal to the layperson. The fact that inseminators in Denmark found a six percent increase in the fertility of their sows by sexually stimulating them during insemination certainly makes for a funny chapter title and descriptive text.

However, it does not go far in showing the reader how much is known about the topic as it relates to humans. It is true that Roach has a great deal to cover through the book, and cannot delve into deep territory for this topic. However, this gives the book value more as a book of popular science rather than a scientific work Relation to Other Research Thankfully, Roach‘s research is supplemented by other research studies on the topic of the female orgasm, both, as it relates to human sexuality and human fertility. As early as the 19705 a scholar notated that “the evidence [shows] that there are several mechanisms which facilitate sperm transport and conception, preferably, but not necessarily aided by female orgasm”. While this is an overarching claim, it makes one thing clear: there is physiological research not just on sexuality, but specifically on the female orgasm. As one article notes, the popular theory for explaining the female orgasm is that it is “not adaptive and is only evolutionarily maintained as a byproduct of ongoing selection on the male orgasm-ejaculation system”.

However, while popular, this theory has been challenged the scholars mentioned above-gathered data from more than 10,000 twins and siblings, and “found significant genetic variation in both male and female orgasmic function, but no significant correlation between opposite-sex twins and siblings”; as the study concludes, “this suggests that different genetic factors underlie male and female orgasmic function and that selection pressures on male orgasmic function do not act substantively on the female orgasmic function”. Yet another study gives an alternative theory on the topic: “Accumulating evidence suggests that low fluctuating asymmetry is a sexually selected male feature in a variety of species, including humans, possibly because it is a marker of genetic quality”. In other words, the theory is that female orgasm is neither a method for sperm retention nor simply an evolutionary by-product, but instead a form of finding genetic quality inmates. This theory may not be without its controversy, but this combined with the others mentioned above show that Roach is missing out on quite a bit when it comes to this topic specifically.

More specifically, each of the three studies mentioned above highlights that a great deal of physiological and scientific research has been conducted not only on human sexuality but on the female orgasm specifically. In contrast, Roach only spends two chapters on the issue of the orgasm 7 one on intercourse orgasms and the other on female orgasms and human fertility. Clearly, there is a field of research that the author of Bonk is missing out on Conclusion & Insight Overall, this response paper has shown two specific insights regarding Mary Roach‘s challenging book on sex and research. First, the above discussion has shown that the research presented in Roach’s book is relatively lacking when it comes to the discussion of the female orgasm. The summary of the discussion above is just about as deep as the research goes, and it is clear that the author is going for breadth rather than depth.

The research regarding this topic, in particular, would be benefitted by a more in-depth assessment at research on female orgasms. For instance, the book (and specific chapters) would have benefitted from a more profound look at the by-product theory of female orgasm by way of foundation, and then a more rounded view of the various theories that contradict the by-product theory of course, Roach is limited in her scope given that this is a book largely designed for the layperson, which brings the conversation to the second major insight gleaned from the hook: opening up the research and the resulting conversation.

The discussion has also shown that the main value in the book (at least for society at large) is in freeing up any preconceived notions or forms of prudishness when it comes to research regarding human sexuality and sexual physiology. As the author notes in her introduction, the main assumption regarding this form of research is “that people study sex because they are perverts. Or, at the very least, because they harbor an unseemly interest in the matter”. This initial claim is supported throughout the book, as Roach notes the negative feedback and resistance that many researchers met throughout their studies, and even throughout their careers. With this resistance in mind, Roach actively fights back against sex research as a pejorative term, instead of forwarding the value of sexual physiology as a field of study. In this way, the book brings a great deal of value to the field, opening it up to new conversations and new insights.