I just read some startling statistics on sexual frequency that really have to make you wonder how we could all be so collectively confused about the meaning and purpose of sex. The World Health Organization estimates that in any twenty four hour period, i.e. one day, 200 million men and women around the world engage in intercourse. Less than a million of these encounters result in pregnancy, which means that there are a great many sexual encounters that are not motivated by procreation. 

I think these statistics are sufficient for us to reasonably accept that the human drive towards pleasure and play in intimacy is at least as meaningful as the drive to procreate. Still it’s odd, how we like to believe that human sexual behavior has somehow transcended the animalistic and primal urges of other mammals. I think in light of these World Health stats it is in our best interest to embrace our very basic need for pleasure.

How come we never wonder about our base urges when it comes to our fascination with violence and war? Considering the collective resources humans put towards killing, our sex drive actually starts to make us look pretty human, or at least not totally animalistic. I know that I risk showing my progressive tendencies here, but it is on the heels of a bipartisan review of the Iraq debacle. I still believe if we embraced sex with more love, we would be less fascinated by war.