Sexual behavior is a core activity not only for our genes, but also for individual happiness. It is therefore important to assess how this aspect of life functions in industrialized nations. Adopting the idea that society should aim at maximizing happiness, the question is whether the present situation is optimal, or if we should strive toward cultural changes that may improve the impact of sex. Sex is associated with some of the strongest rewards the brain has to offer, and consequently should serve to improve quality of life. There are, however, numerous pitfalls in that sex easily elicits negative emotions. Certain aspects of sexuality may reflect what is referred to as a ‘disease of modernity’; that is, the present environment is causing an increase in the prevalence of sex-related misery. The text use both an evolutionary and a bioecological perspective to understand human behavior. Biological (nature) and ecological (environment or nurture) factors are considered in order to assess how to improve the impact of sex on quality of life.

性行为不仅是我们基因的核心活动，也是个人幸福的核心活动。因此，重要的是评估工业化国家中生活的这一方面如何发挥作用。采用社会应该以实现最大幸福为目标的想法，问题是目前的状况是否是最佳的，还是我们应该努力朝着可能改善性影响的文化变革迈进。性与大脑必须提供的一些最有力的回报有关，因此应该有助于改善生活质量。但是，这种性别容易引起负面情绪。性的某些方面可能反映了所谓的“现代性疾病”；就是说，当前的环境正在导致与性相关的痛苦的发生率增加。文本使用进化论和生物生态学的观点来理解人类行为。为了评估如何改善性别对生活质量的影响，考虑了生物（自然）和生态（环境或养育）因素。