A Brief History Of The Female Body by Deena Emera

I read this book in tandem with the last book I posted about, and if I were a sex education teacher or a professor of human sexuality I would include both of these books on my mandatory reading list. I would put this book at the very top of that imaginary list, as I found it very easy to read and well written, especially for a text that educates so well. I am always appreciative of a text that is educational but also entertaining. Are You Coming? was more of what I would call fun educational, A Brief History Of The Female Body was more evolutionary and theoretical educational. I read so many fascinating things that I was happy to feed my brain.  I feel a little bad for my friends, I was so enthusiastic about certain theories that I started talking at length about them. I think I may have bored them a bit with my nerding out. 

So I guess that is a good way to segue into what I found so amazing about this book. Are you interested in reading about some of the theories that try to determine why human females are the only mammals that have breasts year round, not just during pregnancy and breastfeeding? This is the case with all other mammals, what makes us so different? Or, do you want to learn about why we are one of the few species that menstruates, and so frequently at that? These are just a few of the topics that I found myself mesmerized by. The other topics covered in this book include pregnancy, and everything that goes with it, child rearing, diseases, menopause, and love and bonding. The beginning is a little heavy on chromosomes, genetics, and evolution. It can be reminiscent of high school science class but it was much more enjoyable than classroom learning. There are also some nice illustrations that I found very helpful, as trying to visualize what the author was describing was not easy at times. 

I love that professionals in the field are getting even more involved in studying the female body. From what I have been reading, for a long time scientists thought that they knew all they needed to know. But there are still many, many mysteries when it comes to the female reproductive system and other bodily functions and body parts that are particular to the female. I look forward to hearing more about it from both this author and others.