Bonk, By Mary Roach, Is Essentially A Collection Of Stories,

Bonk, by Mary Roach, is essentially a collection of stories, histories, and studies of human sexuality and sex research. Mary Roach talks about the barriers to sex research in the 19th and 20th centuries and the stigma that came along with it. Unfortunately, much of these barriers and stigmatizations still exist, even in a day and age where sex is sold on every street corner through commercial advertisements. It seems that no matter how academic the study, the assumption of the motives behind one researching sex is perversion. Mary Roach, who researches the fascinating avenues of sex, expresses tremendous respect for those brave enough to put their reputations, future, and bank accounts on the line to pioneer the socially risky science of†¦show more content†¦Courage was not optional for the sexologist, it was necessary. No matter how tame the research sounded, it was always pushing the limits on the socially acceptable, and often ignored the limits all together. It is clear to see how social values have influenced research on sexuality in the past. Not only did society dictate what was right and proper for a scientist to study, but it condemned those who sought answers for the â€Å"improper† areas of study to career damnation. Even more discouraging is the way in which modern day society still puts limits on the research done in sexual physiology. In an era so tolerant and open-minded, one would assume that any researcher in honest quest for truth would be welcomed (and funded) with open arms. Unfortunately, this is not the case. In an article titled Long After Kinsey, Only the Brave Study Sex, Benedict Carey describes such limits on a study attempted in 2003, â€Å"In July 2003, for instance, Congress threatened to shut down several highly-regarded sex studies, including one of emotion and arousal, and another of massage parlor workers. And last summer health officials refused to finance a widely anticipated