Sex in the Future: The Reproductive Revolution and How it Will Change Us

By Robin Baker

Book Overview

Robin Baker is one of the people who brought us the notion of kamikaze sperm: valiant but impotent swimmers who sacrifice themselves so that one (or more) of their brethren--as opposed to some other... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0330370340
• ISBN13: 9780330370349
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Pan Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.9" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

A provocative, informative examincation of choices & trends.

How will the new reproductive revolution change society and sexuality in the future? Sex in the Future covers such topics as in-vitro fertilization choices, surrogate motherhood, gamete storage, and the marketing of gene characteristics alike, covering the new choices and ethical concerns brought by the new technologies. A provocative examination of current and future choices.

The Culture War is about to get hot!

Sex in the Future is a provocative survey of the new reproductive technologies coming down the pipeline in the next few decades. The science is straightforward and should be a shock only to the traditional-minded. Where Baker truly pushes the envelope is in his extrapolation of how these technologies will redefine the family in the 21st Century. Baker sees the end of the nuclear family - already fading today - being replaced with widespread single parent families and temporary partnerships. While something like this could happen in Europe, it may have a tougher time gaining popularity in a more religious America. But then, given the impact of thirty years of divorce, feminism, and gay rights, the family has already been radically redefined here. If technology and politics develop as Baker predicts, future families could be stranger than we know. One can only hope that the children will turn out happy. What's perhaps most unsettling about the book are the vignettes that Baker uses to introduce each chapter. The characters in each of these stories are often selfish, materialistic, and Machiavellian, featuring women trying to trap wealthy men into fathering children, and men trying to avoid responsibility for the children they sire. And rarely do we see anything like affection or love, something you would think as being fundamental to a discussion about families. One could argue that Baker is showing extreme examples of human behavior in order to show the potential consequences of the technologies and institutions he discusses. But even so, the fictional sections are alarming enough to add more fuel to a controversial subject. In spite of this, Sex in the Future is full of intriguing ideas and radical possibilities. It makes you think about the future, and that's always a good thing.