Turned On: A Mind-Blowing Investigation into How Sex Has Shaped Our World

by Ross Benes, A.J. Jacobs (Foreword)

Do you think sex only shapes our lives in the bedroom? Think again. Your breakfast cereal. Your neighborhood's crime rate. Even your Amazon Prime account. Believe it or not, nearly every aspect of modern life has been shaped in some way by sex. In this fascinating journey through the human psyche, journalist Ross Benes digs deep into the hidden relationship between everyday human existence―including religion, politics, technology, and more―and our sexuality. Ranging from discussions of how the U.S. military inadvertently helped make San Francisco a mecca of gay culture to the original purpose of vibrators, Turned On is a revealing look at just how much sex shapes our society, and how debunking common myths and attitudes about sex can help us better understand what really influences human behavior as we continue to grapple with the wide-ranging effects our sexuality has on the world around us.

Genres: Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2018

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great Social Science read with unique insights on some of the inner workings of politics, economics, society and religion. A.J. Jacobs' review sums it up so accurately- "Freakonomics without pants".

Did you know that the divorce rate really isn't as high as media has sensationalised it to be; that monogamy helped to increase employee engagement and performance in the military; that the Catholic church changed its rules on priests being able to marry for the purpose of organisational cost savings and to secure ownership of its land; that governments are sneakily sending messages to the population to either increase or decrease the birth rate; that political sex scandals may be publicised or not depending on the current state of war and economy... and just wait until you find out how Corn Flakes and sexual behaviour are related.

[Mike Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, in the vain of Freakanomics, and well researched. The footnotes became so numerous after awhile I stopped reading them as they were disruptive to the flow. Also wish more topics had been explored, maybe the next book.

[Jordan Behrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanted more footnotes, but still excellent

[Buck Wilde · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly vacant of scientific language. It reads like a middle school essay. Pass.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been more engaging

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amazingly boring!