Perv
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  • Published: 15 January 2015
  • ISBN: 9780552165136
  • Imprint: Corgi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $29.99

Perv

Formats & editions
EBook
13 Feb 2014
Audiobook
13 Feb 2014
Paperback
15 Jan 2015
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The surprising science of sexual deviance

In this eye-opening book, psychologist Jesse Bering argues that we are all sexual deviants on one level or another. He introduces us to the young woman who falls madly in love with the Eiffel Tower, a young man addicted to seductive sneezes, and a pair of deeply affectionate identical twins, among others. He challenges us to move beyond our attitudes towards 'deviant' sex and consider the alternative: what would happen if we rise above our fears and revulsions and accept our true natures?

With his signature wit and irreverent style, Bering pulls back the curtains on the history of perversions, the biological reasons behind our distaste for unusual sexual proclivities and the latest research on desire. Armed with reason, science and an insatiable appetite for knowledge, he humanises deviants while asking some provocative questions about the nature of hypocrisy, prejudice and when sexual desire can lead to harm.

A groundbreaking look at our complex relationship with our carnal urges and the ways in which we disguise, deny and shame the sexual deviant in all of us, Perv brings hidden desires into the spotlight.
  • Published: 15 January 2015
  • ISBN: 9780552165136
  • Imprint: Corgi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $29.99
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About the author

Jesse Bering

Jesse Bering is an award-winning science writer specializing in evolutionary psychology and human behavior. His ‘Bering in Mind’ column at Scientific American was named a 2010 Webby Award Honoree by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. His previous books are, The Belief Instinct whichwas included in the American Library Association’s Top 25 Books of the Year.This was followed by a collection of his previously published essays, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? and Perv , a taboo-shattering work igniting discussion and fierce debates, named as a New YorkTimes Editor’s Choice.
A developmental psychologist by training, Bering is a renowned expert in the field ofcognitive science and religion, He began his career at the University of Arkansas, as an Assistant Professor of Psychology from 2002 to 2006. He then served as the Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at the Queen’s University, Belfast until 2011. Presently, he is an Associate Professor of Science Communication at the University of Otago, New Zealand.

portrait photo of Jesse Bering

Also by Jesse Bering

A Very Human Ending
Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?
See all

Praise for Perv

A delightful, intelligent, and thought-provoking addition to the growing body of our sexual knowledge of self

Publishers Weekly

An entertaining catalogue of the erotic carnival and a plea for tolerance

Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times

As mind-boggling as it is informative

Independent on Sunday

It's hard to disagree with Bering's generous liberalism

The Times

A serious and humane book

Guardian

A whirlwind journey through the kinks of the human personality... In entertaining fashion, this psychologist aims to show that normal is just a number; that many of us have strange quirks so quite the moralising

The Times, Summer Books

Jesse Bering is the Hunter S. Thompson of science writing, and he is a delight to read - funny, smart, and madly provocative.

Professor Paul Bloom, Yale University

A colourful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.

New Humanist

A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic.

Nature

A colorful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.

New Humanist

Witty... [Bering] employs examples and analogies that make his arguments seem like common sense rather than the hard-earned scientific insights they really are.

New Scientist

Jesse Bering is the Hunter S. Thompson of science writing, and he is a delight to read - funny, smart, and madly provocative.

Professor Paul Bloom, Yale University