Are We Still 'The Intimate Animal'?

"Our species is on the precipice of what I have come to think of as an intimacy crisis. Garcia brings an array of expertise to The Intimate Animal. In 2019, at age 34, he became the executive director of the Kinsey Institute, the renowned sex-and-relationships research center, where he is also a senior scientist. As the chief scientific adviser to Match, the online-dating behemoth, he also consults on the company's annual "Singles in America" survey."

"From an evolutionary perspective, the handsome, muscle-bound Clavicular is, by his own accounting, a dud: He suspects that the testosterone-replacement therapy he takes to appear more manly has decimated his fertility, and in any case, he considers sex a waste of time, telling the reporter that it "is going to gain me nothing.""

"The Intimate Animal coalesces into a persuasive case for the centrality of intimacy in the human experience-and arrives at a time when that seems to be out of reach for more people than ever. In the book, he enlivens reams of scientific research with charming anecdotes from friends, colleagues, and the strangers who unload on him."

Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute and chief scientific adviser to Match, explores intimacy's evolutionary importance in his book The Intimate Animal. He contrasts the evolutionary purpose of intimacy with contemporary figures like the "looksmaxxing" influencer Clavicular, who pursues physical attractiveness while rejecting sex and relationships. Garcia draws on extensive research, personal anecdotes, and stories from colleagues and strangers to demonstrate how intimacy drives human connection and reproduction. The book examines a growing intimacy crisis, suggesting that modern society increasingly prevents people from forming meaningful pair bonds and intimate relationships despite their biological importance.

Read at The Atlantic