Number of words: 126

Sothesyntax of the verbs of sex uncovers two very different mental models of sexuality. The first is reminiscent of sex–education curricula, marriage manuals, and other sanctioned views: Sex is joint activity, details unspecified, which is mutually engaged in by two equal partners. The second is a darker view, somewhere between mammalian socio-biology and Dworkin-style feminism: Sex is a forceful act, instigated by an active male and impinging on a passive female, exploiting her or damaging her. Both models capture human sexuality in its full range of manifestations, and if language is our guide, the first model is approved for public discourse, while the second is taboo, though widely recognized in private.

Excerpt from’The seven words you can’t say on television by Steven Pinker.’