By David Usborne in New York Published: 02 August 2007
Sex just happens, doesn't it? We do the deed, just because. That is why sexologists over the decades have focused on the physical specifics - how we set about our coupling - and the problems that arise when the machinery of the body or the brain somehow does not co-operate with the mission.
Thanks to the hard work of two researchers at the University of Texas, however, we now know that the "because" is rather more complicated than we thought. There are myriad reasons why we have sex with one another, according to their paper, published in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behaviour.
Surprises abound. Who knew, for example, that there were people who favor a bit of carnal canoodling as a means of getting closer to God, challenging the notion that religion generally gets in the way of a good romp. And forget the myth about headaches and turning your back on your partner in bed. It seems that for some of us a headache makes sex a priority, because it works better as a cure than Aspirin. David Buss, who
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