A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEX

Birds do it, bees do it, humans since the dawn of time have done it.

But just how much has the act really changed through the millennia and even in past decades? Are humans doing it more? Are we doing it better? Sort of, say scientists. But it's how people fess up to the truth about their sex lives that has changed the most over the years.

Humans have basically been the same anatomically for about 100,000 years—so what is safe to say is that if we enjoy it now, then so did our cave-dwelling ancestors and everyone else since, experts say.

"Just as our bodies tell us what we might like to eat, or when we should go to sleep, they lay down for us our pattern of lust," says University of Toronto psychologist Edward Shorter. "Sex has always offered pleasure."

Hard wired

Sexuality has a lot to do with our biological framework, agreed Joann Rodgers, director of media relations and lecturer at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
"People and indeed all animals are hard wired to seek out sex and to continue to do so," Rodgers said in a recent interview. "I imagine that is evidence that people at least like sex and even if they don't they engage in it as a biological imperative."

It is nearly impossible to tell, however, whether people enjoyed sex more 50 years ago or 50,000 years ago, said David Buss, professor of psychology at the University of Texas and author of "The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating" (Basic Books, 2003).

There is "no reason to think that we do more now than in the past, although we are certainly more frank about it," Buss told LiveScience.

Indeed, cultural restraints—rather than anything anatomical—have had the biggest effect on our sexual history, Shorter says.

"To be sure, what people actually experience is always a mixture of biological and social conditioning: Desire surges from the body, the mind interprets what society will accept and what not, and the rest of the signals are edited out by culture," he writes in his book, "Written in the Flesh: A History of Desire" (University of Toronto Press, 2005).

That's not to say that cultural norms keep people from exploring the taboo, but only what is admitted to openly, according to archaeologist Timothy Taylor of Great Britain's University of Bradford.

"The idea that there is a sexual line that must not be crossed but in practice often is, is far older than the story of Eve's temptation by the serpent," he writes in "The History of Sex: Four Million Years of Human Sexual Culture" (Bantam Books, 1996).

Modern advances

Religion especially has held powerful sway over the mind's attitude towards the body's carnal desires, most sexual psychologists agree. Men and women who lived during the pious Middle Ages were certainly affected by the fear of sin, Shorter said, though he notes there were other inhibiting factors to consider, too.

"The low priority attached to sexual pleasure by people who lived in distant times is inexplicable unless one considers the hindrances that existed in those days," Shorter writes. He points especially to the 1,000 years of misery and disease—often accompanied by some very un-sexy smells and itching—that led up to the Industrial Revolution. "After the mid-nineteenth century, these hindrances start to be removed, and the great surge towards pleasure begins."

Many historians and psychologists see the late 1800s as a kind of watershed period for sexuality in the Western world. With the industrial revolution pushing more and more people together—literally—in dense, culturally-mixed neighborhoods, attitudes towards sex became more liberal.

The liberalization of sexuality kicked into high gear by the 1960s with the advent of the birth control pill, letting women get in on the fun and act on the basis of desire as men always had, according to Shorter.

"The 1960s vastly accelerated this unhesitant willingness to grab sex for the sheer sake of physical pleasure," he said, noting that the trend of openly seeking out sex just because it feels good, rather than for procreation alone, has continued on unabated into the new millennium.

Global variations

But despite the modern tendency towards sexual freedom, even today there are vast differences in attitudes across the world, experts say.

"Cultures vary tremendously in how early they start having sex, how open they are about it, and how many sexual partners they have," said Buss, noting that Swedes generally have many partners in their lifetime and the Chinese typically have few.

An informal 2005 global sex survey sponsored by the condom company Durex confirmed Buss' views. Just 3 percent of Americans polled called their sex lives "monotonous," compared to a sizable 26 percent of Indian respondents. While 53 percent of Norwegians wanted more sex than they were having (a respectable 98 times per year, on average), 81 percent of the Portuguese were quite happy with their national quota of 108 times per year.

Though poll numbers and surveys offer an interesting window into the sex lives of strangers, they're still constrained by the unwillingness of people to open up about a part of their lives that's usually kept behind closed doors.

And what if we weren't bound by such social limitations? Taylor offers the promiscuous—and very laid-back—bonobo chimpanzee as a utopian example.

"Bonobos have sex most of the time ... a fairly quick, perfunctory, and relaxed activity that functions as a social cement," he writes. "But for cultural constraints, we would all behave more like bonobos. In physical terms, there is actually nothing that bonobos do that some humans do not sometimes do."

What Do You Know?

THE BEAUTY OF EVA LONGORIA

Eva Jacqueline Longoria (born March 15, 1975) is a Golden Globe Award-nominated American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Gabrielle Solis in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She has also become an internationally recognized model after appearing in several high-profile advertising campaigns and numerous men's magazines. Longoria announced her engagement to French NBA guard Tony Parker on November 30, 2006.
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Early life

Longoria[1] was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Mexican-American Catholic parents, Enrique Longoria Jr. (born in Rachal, Brooks County, Texas) and Ella Eva Mireles (married in Falfurrias, Brooks County, Texas). She has three older sisters: Elizabeth Judina, Emily Jeannette, and Esmeralda. She attended Roy Miller High School and received her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology at nearby Texas A&M University-Kingsville. During this time, she won the title of Miss Corpus Christi, USA in 1998. After completing college, Longoria entered a talent contest that led her to Los Angeles; shortly after, she was spotted and signed by a theatrical agent. With many family members still living in Corpus Christi, she still returns to her home town for visits.

Career

Longoria landed her first television role in 2000, guest-starring in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. Another guest appearance in General Hospital the same year brought her big break on the popular American soap opera The Young and the Restless, in which she played psychotic Isabella Braña Williams from 2001 to 2003. People en Español listed her among its "Most Beautiful People" for 2003. After leaving The Young and the Restless, she was seen on the now-cancelled Dragnet. Although it lasted only two seasons, the show gave Longoria another leading star credit to her name. Following Dragnet, she starred in two ill-fated productions - Señorita Justice, a poorly received direct-to-video film, and a television film titled The Dead Will Tell.

In 2004, Longoria landed a role that elevated her to the A-List. She starred as adulteress Gabrielle Solis in the worldwide break-out ABC hit Desperate Housewives. As the show became an overnight sensation, Longoria's career was well and truly launched. But she has never considered her career to have jumped off so suddenly, "I think it’s funny when people say I’m an overnight sensation, because I’ve been working at it for 10 years."[2]

Shortly after her debut on Desperate Housewives, Longoria starred in a poorly received direct-to-video film titled Carlita's Secret, for which she was also co-producer. In 2005, she was rewarded for her performance as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives when she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy along with her co-stars. Even though neither Longoria nor any of the rest of the cast won, she was awarded the prestigious ALMA AWARD and named entertainer of the year. She also starred opposite Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland in the 2006 thriller The Sentinel, which was her first major role in a theatrical movie (both Douglas and Sutherland noted that much to their surprise Eva whipped both of them in gun practice). Longoria continues to be included in lists of Hollywood's Most Beautiful and was listed #1 in Maxim's Hottest Female Stars of 2005 and 2006, becoming the first woman to top the list in two consecutive years. In her most recently released film, Harsh Times, she plays the character Sylvia and co-stars with actors Freddy Rodriguez and Christian Bale.

In her interview with Ryan Seacrest on The Interview with Ryan Seacrest on E!, she stated: "I don't want to be on 7th Heaven -- on for 20 years and no one's really watching, and it's hanging on by a thread." She has also stated multiple times that she will not renew her Desperate Housewives contract once it is up. Instead, she has set her sights on the film industry.[3] At the time of her statements, the length of her contract was not known, but she has since revealed it to be 10 years, starting from the first season.[4]

In 2006, Longoria appeared in Jessica Simpson's music video "A Public Affair" along with Christina Milian, Christina Applegate, Ryan Seacrest, Maria Menounos, and Andy Dick.

Longoria was on the cover of the September 2006 issue of Maxim Magazine. She sat down with Maxim and discussed how contrary to belief, her life really is normal. "Tony [Parker] and I spend most of our time in San Antonio. We have such a normal life there. I mean, we hang out and have breakfast, go to his parents', go to my parents'. Do laundry."

Longoria recently won a People's Choice Award for Best TV Actress.[5]

In January 2007, Longoria was chosen to be the first face of Bebe Sport. She will appear in the Spring/Summer 2007 campaign, photographed by Greg Kadel. The actress also holds model contracts with L’Oreal and Hanes, New York & Co.[6]

Longoria also hosted the 2007 NCLR ALMA Awards on June 5, 2007, on ABC.

In 2007, the ladies of Desperate Housewives each renewed their contracts with ABC for four years, worth $40 million.

[edit] Personal life

Longoria was married to General Hospital star Tyler Christopher from January 20, 2002, to January 19, 2004, and as such, was also credited as Eva Longoria Christopher. She has been romantically linked to successful writer Milan Gracanin, ex-*NSYNC member JC Chasez, actor Mousir Syed and Life As We Know It star Sean Faris (although both Faris and Longoria deny any romantic link). Although some have reported her height as 5'2", she is in fact 5'1".[7]

In 2005, Longoria stated that she wished she had had lesbian sexual experiences with women, which caused some to debate whether she may be gay or bisexual.[1]

Like many South Texans, Longoria is an avid San Antonio Spurs fan and is a courtside regular at Spurs games. On November 30, 2006, she became engaged to Spurs point guard Tony Parker. The two called in to the Ryan Seacrest radio show to announce it. She said the way he proposed was "perfect, personal, and sweet." After playing against the Utah Jazz, Parker flew out to Los Angeles, which was unexpected because she never thought he would come there after the game. She got off work at about midnight and found Parker waiting for her. The couple plan to wed on July 7, 2007 in Paris.[8]

On June 14, 2007, the Spurs won the 2007 NBA Finals in Cleveland, Ohio against the Cavaliers, and Parker was honored as the Finals MVP for the series. Longoria was shown wiping tears as Parker was awarded the trophy. [9]