Women, Marriage and Sex in Society : History, Psychology and Sociology of Sex over the Ages

Among the three facets of world civilization in the field of man-woman relationship, namely, unbriddled licence, foolproof bondage and regulated freedom, the present age is witnessing era of almost complete subjugation of man over woman, with the latter trying to free herself from the shackles of man’s control. Sex plays an important role in this entire attempt at the emancipation, equalization and empowerment of women. Women, Marriage and Sex in Society strives to present the philosophy of sex in its correct historical, sociological and psychological perspective, portraying the past and current status of women over the ages, not only in India but also under the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and supplemented by an account of her position in the modern age both in the west as well as east. The relationship of sex with society, state and the law and the interaction of individual and social forces have been adequately highlighted in this study. The impact of politics, business, and science on sex (e.g., in the matter of human cloning), has also been examined. The author feels that a sustainable revolution of sex, both in India as well as Europe and America, can neither be in the form of a ‘free-sex’ society as in the sex-liberated Scandinavian countries, nor a ‘sex-free’ society as in India, but a regulated sex society, in which ‘marriage’ is not a sine qua non for ‘sex’. The present study is a quintessence of both the author’s empirical experience as well as his indepth knowledge of the studies conducted in the working of this basic human instinct, namely, sex, followed by a critical appreciation of the researches carried out in the west, in this field particularly in the current century and is a well-documented account of historical and sociological importance.