HUMAN SEXUALITY.
WHY WE LOVE.
ZAINAB BALOGUN
DR. DEBRA LAINO
In the book why we love, author Helen Fisher attempts to understand the idea behind the human romantic love by studying the mating behavior of animals. Thus, she firmly believes that romantic love is a phenomenon arising from ‘human nature’. Which shows itself in the different forms in the animal kingdom. The book begins by presenting the results of a scientific study in which Fisher scanned the brains of people who had just fallen madly in love. She proves, at last, what researchers had only suspected: that when you fall in love, primordial areas of the brain "light up" with increased blood flow, creating romantic passion. Fisher uses this new research to show exactly what you experience when you fall in love, why you choose one person rather than another, and how romantic love affects your …show more content…
She argues that all animals feel romantic attraction, that love at first sight comes out of nature, and that human romance evolved for crucial reasons of survival. Lastly, she offers concrete suggestions on how to control this ancient passion, and she optimistically explores the future of romantic love in our chaotic modern world.
In the first few chapters of why we love, Fisher talks about the methods used by human males and females in the process of courtship and their reproductive functions. She discusses the art of flirtation and how it is expressed by both sexes. Beginning with what is referred to as “Body Talk”, Fisher claims that some patterns of female flirting like smiling, lifting the eyebrows, wide-eyed gazing and looking away are cross-cultural (20). To add to that, a typical female strategy when flirting is to use the head to “signal sexual interest” (20). The female will give her suitor a coy look or toss her hair. This gesture, which is is common among other female species suggests that such actions may be