Sexual Intelligence

Kim Catrall's documentary premieres tonight,
HBO: Kim Cattrall Sexual Intelligence
(click on link above)

Synopsis ~
Accompanied by seven men and women and four sexology experts, presenter/host Kim Cattrall takes viewers around the world and back home in an exploration of the boundaries and aspirations of our own sexual identities.

Human sexual behavior has been chronicled since the dawn of history, starting with the "first lady of lust and libido," Aphrodite: Goddess of Love,who symbolically rose out of the water as a symbol of sexuality and fertility. Her image is in many ways the blueprint for desire, though we're each "hardwired" with a "love map" that arouses us when the right person arrives.

While many of our desires stem from childhood experience and are more complex and hidden than we realize, there are certain quantifiable determinants that both stimulate our sex drive and, ultimately, make it fizzle out. The chemical component to attraction is Oxytocin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the hormone of love, and it's why most men experience the so-called "seven-year itch" (though more likely it's about five years). While infidelity is often the result, sexuality at its human zenith involves ethics: the ability not to exploit, but to allow freedom, both in the act of sex and in the choice of sex partners. Ethics also allow us to act out our fantasies without allowing them to become addictions, where they may cause harm to others or interfere with the rules of society. As Cattrall says, fantasy is the opposite of reality for most of us, because "we want to be safe."

The mystical possibilities of sex flow from the act of surrender. The writer DH Lawrence was fascinated with how sexuality entwined with religion, how sex connects us all to something much bigger. In a way, the body is the doorway to the divine, both in physical imagery and spiritual ecstasy. The story of Aphrodite's son Cupid, who is the object of love for the human Psyche even though she is not allowed to look at him, illustrates how humans lust after the divine as if it were a sexual object.

Ultimately, sex opens us up to our emotions, both physical and aesthetic. It is also the driving force in a human's most passionate search: for love and issues of the soul. As Cattrall concludes, "Sexual intelligence helps us explore the roots of our desires. It encourages us to embrace and celebrate the sensual dynamics in life, nature, culture and, most importantly, in ourselves."

Fascinating...........I can't wait to watch this!