"The Sex Effect is an entertaining and well-researched exploration of the unintended consequences of our sexual misapprehensions and mythologies. Benes reminds us at every turn how persistent and pervasive is the parallax between what’s true about human sexuality, and what we insist on believing about it." — Rachel Maines, author of The Technology of Orgasm

"A thought-provoking read on a subject that would otherwise seem to have been overworked already." — Daniel Halperin, co-author of Tinderbox, former senior HIV prevention advisor at USAID, former faculty member of Harvard School of Public Health

"Ross Benes’ smart and enjoyable book takes us on a fascinating odyssey through the hidden ways that humanity's endless struggle with sex influences the entirely unsexual aspects of our daily lives. The secret history of Graham crackers, the rise of pelvic massages by sheepish doctors, the story of military-sanctioned brothels, all are narrated with wit and unexpected insight." — Ogi Ogas, co-author of A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World’s Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire

"Benes winnows out many surprising motivations behind familiar products, and also shows how, for everyone from cereal makers to pharmaceutical companies, sometimes the best-laid plans lead to marvelous tangential results. Conversational, approachable, and credible, Benes delivers story after story that will surprise you and challenge your assumptions: Once you have read this book, I doubt you will ever eat a weasel again." — Patchen Barss, author of The Erotic Engine

"Benes has combined history, epidemiology, anthropology, neuroscience and whatever it takes to produce a well-written, engaging, clever, highly informative book. The Sex Effect is a welcome respite from the usual partisan bickering and moralizing that this subject usually evokes." — Edward C. Green, former Director of the Harvard AIDS Prevention Project

"In this fascinating work, buttressed with massive research from impeccable sources, Benes shows how sex and the perception of sex affect so many aspects of cultures from why we eat corn flakes to the economic influence of gay communities and more." — Richard Kimbrough, author of History Mysteries

"The topic of sex elicits intense moral and political sentiments, so it’s especially important to approach it in a clear-headed way. This book does an excellent job with that – the only preaching you’ll find here is in favor of a more rational understanding of sex. Far more wide-ranging than most books about sex, it surveys the diverse and counterintuitive ways in which sex impacts society. Engaging and honest, you’ll be surprised by how much you learn." — Michael Price, Brunel University psychology professor and Psychology Today contributor

"This is is a no nonsense, honest, factual and clearly exposed dialogue about human sexuality. The social constructs and interesting historical developments that shape attitudes toward masturbation, homosexuality, religious influences and scandals all come under intelligent consideration. The text is infused with sociological and psychological wisdom without ever being dogmatic and certainly never boring." — Richard Sipe, author of A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy and Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis

"A witty discussion of the indirect role sex plays across political, economic, religious, and cultural landscapes...a probing, multifacted commentary on the social science of sex and society...a book marinated in provocative assertions that are certain to instigate debate and productive discussion." — Kirkus Reviews

2017-02-02
A witty discussion of the indirect role sex plays across political, economic, religious, and cultural landscapes.Veteran pop-culture journalist Benes, who has worked for Esquire and Deadspin, first addresses the sordid history of monogamy and its pervasiveness in Western society as more than just a social construct but rather a conditioned and normalized mating system. The author presents the argument that devotion as a kind of "sexual conditioning" has both contentment consequences (i.e., divorce via infidelity) and social benefits. Benes then examines the public perception of political sex scandals throughout history (including our "Founding Fornicators") and what he considers the "true significance" of pornography, and he discusses uproarious case studies on the hidden sex-related histories of products like corn flakes and graham crackers. Having snarkily documented a visit to a Scientology center for Esquire, Benes is no stranger to immersion journalism, but he digs freely and critically into more scandalous territory in chapters detailing the failure of the condom initiative in Uganda in stemming AIDS infections, veiled homosexuality in the military, and the "prevalence of gay priests" in the Catholic church. Throughout the narrative, the author provides generous, often entertaining footnotes—e.g., "law scholar Richard Posner theorized Catholic rituals might attract homosexuals. The adornment, theatrical expression, music, incense, and lavish garb might appeal more to a gay man than a straight man." As a probing, multifaceted commentary on the social science of sex and society, Benes' book succeeds in corralling a litany of ideas and opinions that may ruffle some readers' feathers. Regardless of the possible unpopularity of his conclusions, however, the author consistently makes salient points: "The only thing perplexing about a powerful person using their traits and resources to obtain sex is that people are surprised whenever it happens." Benes ably explores society's perceptions and applications of sex in ways that are "worth studying, rather than sensationalizing." A book marinated in provocative assertions that are certain to instigate debate and productive discussion.