VVol. 8 Issue 7ol. 8 Issue (^79595)
PHOTOS: ©DAVE BROWN
“MRI scans show how love causes the
brain to flood with dopamine. The release
men get from orgasm is the same as a
heroin user gets from a hit. It’s addictive”
Animal: The Autobiography Of A Female
Body by Sara Pascoe is out now.
Vol. 8 Issue 7 95
that actions and desires are different things.
That makes us unique.
In your book, you say that our ideas
of sexuality are often male-biased.
Why do you think this is?
The scientists who discovered evolution
were Victorian men. At the time, women
were oppressed and dismissed as coy,
chattering nurturers. The view was that
women got their pleasure not from having
sex, but from having babies. It’s led to
a model of human sexual behaviour
that completely ignores female lust and
pleasure as forces. So for example, if a
woman sleeps with a co-worker, often it’s
interpreted as an act of manipulation – her
wanting to sleep her way to the top – rather
than that she just plain fancied the guy.
There’s this whole agenda going on.
What was the most surprising thing
you learned?
How much ‘falling in love’ is influenced by
brain chemistry. MRI scans show how love
causes the brain to flood with dopamine.
The release men get from orgasm is the
same as a heroin user gets from a hit. It’s
addictive.
We have all of these songs and poems
and conversations about love, but to see it
happening in the brain in black and white is
just huge. It doesn’t undermine love or take
away any of the feelings or the magic. It just
makes it even more incredible.
While exploring the neurochemistry
of love, you underwent an MRI scan.
How was that?
Exciting! You lie there and you’re told to stay
completely still and there’s all this clanging. I
was like a child who wanted to impress their
teacher – it’s the stillest I’ve ever been.
This is a very personal, emotive book.
It made me laugh but it also made
me cry. What do you hope to achieve
from it?
I want people to accept themselves and be
forgiving of what they find. I want them to be
interested and curious.
A third of the book is about consent. There
was a case in the US where a football player
was found guilty of raping an unconscious
woman, yet to this day he claims he did
nothing wrong. I want to promote discussion.
If we can educate people to better understand
the issues surrounding consent, then this
becomes a solvable crime. Our legal system
is not set up to trial rape and sexual assault
effectively. That needs to change.
Has writing your book been cathartic?
Yes, it really has. Sometimes, writing things
down really helps you to work out what you
think. I was able to look back at some of
the more difficult parts of my life and put
a full stop after them. It’s also made me
realise how well my Mum has shaped me as
a person. It’s almost like I’ve been able to
write her a love letter... in a book.
marcin
(Marcin)
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