Sex, Reproduction, Humans

One characteristic that seems to distinguish the human species from others is its obsession with sex.  For most organisms, reproduction is one biological function among several, occurring with regularity, e. g.  mating season, occasionally involving idle genital stimulation, e. g. dogs.  In sharp contrast, according to one predominant theological tradition, the entire human species has been cursed because of some genital exposure, replaced by the Freudian myth according to which a person's entire life is determined by early-age psycho-sexual events.  Now, the insubstantiality of that myth is exposed by comparing its concept of 'sexual repression' with the concrete numerical restriction of reproduction in some societies.  Still, for the most part, the Freudian liberation of Sex from its theological denigration has led to the equally hyperbolic alternative to the vilification of Sex--its glorification, to which even Marcuse succumbs.  The common characterization of the instincts in question as 'animal' is thus quite ironic.