1 result for (book:notp AND session:770 AND stemmed:one)
[... 9 paragraphs ...]
Biologically there is a period very rarely experienced, as jokingly suggested in the “sick jokes” about senility and second childhood. This particular latent biological ability shows itself only upon the rarest instances — because, for one thing, it represents a feat now scarcely desirable. Physically, however, the body is quite able to completely regenerate itself as it approaches old age. Indeed, a quite legitimate second puberty is possible, in which the male’s seed is youthfully strong and vital, and the woman’s womb is pliable and able to bear. There are, I believe, Biblical tales of such births resulting.
[... 10 paragraphs ...]
Now: Love is a biological necessity, a force operating to one degree or another in all biological life. Without love there is no physical commitment to life — no psychic hold.
Love exists whether or not it is sexually expressed, though it is natural for love to seek expression. Love implies loyalty. It implies commitment. This applies to lesbian and homosexual relationships as well as to heterosexual ones. In your society, however, identity is so related to sexual stereotypes that few people know themselves well enough to understand the nature of love, and to make any such commitments.
[... 4 paragraphs ...]
When you look at the animal kingdom, you suppose that the male chooses blindly, led by “dumb” instinct, so that in overall terms one female will do as well as any other. When you discover that a certain chemical or scent will attract a certain male insect, for example, you take it for granted that that element is alone responsible for drawing the male to the female. You take it for granted, in other words, that individual differences do not apply in such cases so remote from your own reality.
[... 5 paragraphs ...]
One small note: A male with growths of any kind — kidney stones or ulcers, for example — has tendencies he considers feminine, and therefore “dependent,” of which he is ashamed. In a mock biological ceremony, he gives birth to the extent that he produces within his body material that was not there before. In ulcers the stomach becomes the womb — bloodied, giving birth to sores — his interpretation of a male’s “grotesque” attempt to express feminine characteristics.
[... 5 paragraphs ...]