Sex at Dawn author Christopher Ryan, Dr. Suzy, Julien Nitzberg & Shalini. Photo: M. Paisner

Length: 120:27 minutes        Date: 10/16/10

New York Times bestseller Sex at Dawn: Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality co-author  Christopher Ryan,  heard via phone from Barcelona on his previous appearance on RadioSUZY1, loses his Speakeasy virginity on this show, appearing in the flesh to  delve deeper into the details of his ground-breaking exploration of the origins of human sexual behavior.

In Sex at Dawn, supported by scientific evidence from fields such as evolutionary psychology, archaeology, and anatomy, Chris and his co-author, who is also his wife Cacilda Jethá, argue not only that both male and female humans were sexually promiscuous in our prehistoric past, but that modern humans still have essentially the same bodies, minds, and libidos (biologically speaking) as our ancestors.

Conventional wisdom is that monogamy and the nuclear family evolved in human pre-history: women could secure access to resources for themselves and their children, while men could ensure their offspring were theirs alone. Alleged biological difference between the libidos of males and females (men being more interested in sex than women) has been seen as the reason men stray from these stable pairings.  And yet, women defy this notion every day; just take a look at some of our shows to see a wide variety of ladies reveling in their sexuality despite the pervasive double standard ingrained in our culture: promiscuity is excusable in men (“boys will be boys!”) while condemned in women (only “sluts” or “whores” sleep around, and only for money or attention).

Those who practice or advocate for a sexually freer way of life (as the Block Institute’s Bonobo Way of peace through pleasure does) are often labeled deviant for challenging the widely-held view of human sexuality. Sex at Dawn argues that the current ways of life were established with the invention of farming during the Neolithic Revolution, when the previous lifestyle of communal, sexually open foragers was shattered by the advent of land ownership, male control of wealth and women, and the subsequent limitation of female sexuality.

To support the idea that we evolved as promiscuously multi-male/multi-female in our sexual interactions, Chris cites anatomical and psychological clues still present in the human body, revealing  fun facts about the human penis and vagina that support a standard of female sex with multiple male partners.  We also discuss one of my favorite topics, Sperm Wars, as well as the nature of female orgasm, marital discord, consensual gangbangs, Darwin, Galileo and chastity belts.

We only have time to take one call from Kylie, a Twitter fan of Sex at Dawn, but Chris is also game to answer a few audience questions, supplied by previous guests Mia Culpa and Julien Nitzberg (director of The Wild and Wonderful Whites, recently featured on Heroes or Outlaws? and seen wiping amrita off his sleeve in Squirt Salon II). The dialogue touches on commitment in non-monogamous relationships, the writing and publishing process, feminism, Clan of the Cave Bear, Chinese communism, swinging, spanking, volcanoes and the future of human sexuality. Not bad to fit into an hour and a half! And whereas I usually remind to you follow the Bonobo Way, this time, I’d like to encourage you to follow the truest Human Way, that which has been a part of our very bodies and souls since the dawn of our own species.