Sex, Society and Relationships

To examine sexual behavior, especially monogamy, and adultery through the lens of history is especially pertinent for the twentyfirst century. To know the past, to understand that humankind has always been driven by the sexual drive, and how each culture has attempted both to gratify sexual desires and to curb them, demands our attention. We are living in a period of unbridled sexuality, a paradise for sex, that has destabilized our culture, our personal relationships, and a healthy development for our children. Will hook-ups, one-night-stands, and sex without connection become the new norm? Will loneliness and suicide dominate our culture? The author attempts to present sexual behavior from a biological, psycho-logical, and social perspective—an unmoralistic pursuit—but 

hopefully provocative, so that we may learn from our past and better understand our present.

Charlotte Schwartz, MSS, LCSW, is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the International  Psychoanalytical Association, the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, formerly Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at New York Medical College, and Adjunct Professor at Smith College School for Social Work, as well as at NYU School of Social Work. Author of The Mythology Surrounding Freud and Klein:  Implications for Psychoanalysis, coeditor of Sexual Faces, and has published numerous articles in the field.