I think I've just learned a lot more about some of the people who study sexual evolution than about sexual evolution itself.

Surveys taken of today's sexual attitudes and behaviors must be taken as absolutely meaningless as regards human evolution. Our attitudes and behaviors are determined far more by cultural factors than by biology. The proof is that you will get very different results in very different cultures and different times.

Just because in our time 25 percent of women and 30 percent of men 'cheat' doesn't mean we have any idea of the actual behavior of the humaniods who evolved into us. One hundred years ago the same study might have gotten very different numbers. Why makes our numbers more 'valid' than other numbers? What even makes them valid at all?

Futhermore it's not at all clear that 'cheating' is something that has any meaning outside of our culture and time. 'Cheating' implies individuals who can choose who they would like to mate with. And favoring some mates over others also implies a degree of autonomy. But if we look at human history, or even at other countries, we see very few people who have any choice in who they mate with. Very few of us, for instance, are forced into marriages that our parents have arranged for us. And very few of us are ever likely to be sold into slavery as captives. Yet these were extremely common experiences throughout history. It's our lives that are out of the norm.

While 'cheating', as it's called, might be a recent development only present in our culture, promiscuity and multiple partners (desired or not) have not. Throughout all cultures you will find instances of prostitution, rape, courtly love, concubines, harems, libertines, swingers, orgies, bacchanalia, mistresses, walking marriage, serial monogomy, etc, etc. Obviously sexual competition has existed within the human race for a while.

In any case where sexual monogomy cannot be guaranteed, having better evolved genetalia could help. The Japan Times had an article about promiscuity within a species and how it relates to testes size. In cases where animals do not choose their sexual partners, evolution of sexual organs can be even more important. The New York Times ran a story recently about the evolution of duck genetalia due to forced matings.

Lots of sexual competition may have existed, but what kind of competition had any bearing on our evolution? If different human societies have different kinds of sexual competition, then we have to roll back to the time when all these societies were the same. And the question is, what was the sexual competition like in that society? It's not clear that taking studies and surveys of people today will tell us anything about the people we evolved from.

It's not even clear that looking at human history will tell anything about the people we evolved from, since we were so radically changed. We have culture, which impacts us tremendously, but pre-humans did not. They presumably operated by instinctive behaviors--what were those behaviors which we seem to lost entirely? That's the behavior that determined what we are today, not current behavior.

Then again, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears may have skewed the survey results.

Happy Valentines Day

While the importance of social and cultural norms cannot be discounted in any analysis of human behavior, to completely discount the evolutionary roots of human behavior in general would seem awfully foolish. While this specific article doesn't go into detail regarding the diversity of their sample, I wouldn't be suprised to find similar (if somewhat modified to certain social conditions) behavior in a broad cross-section of people. Culture and socialization are important, but they themselves are also derivative of evolutionary processes and evolved behaviors. This is why one can find so many similar characteristics in societies that are completely isolated from each other and often very different in other ways.

As far as your comment regarding cheating, I'm not sure what you're getting at. Monogamy can exist without choice, as it does amongst a number of animals, and it exists in many human societies without any choice on the part of the individuals involved.

Sexual behavior and evolution have always been strongly linked as sex is one of the most important mechanisms of the evolutionary process. Sex without evolution is like a day without sunshine. (see Tatiana's Sex Advice for all of Creation by Olivia Judson)

in the first paragraph, I meant to say "to completely discount the evolutionary roots of human sexual behavior"

Let's he honest with ourselves; women cheat because they are not receiving the affection/ attention/ admiration they need from their partners. I don't think heterosexual women are the only ones who cheat, can we blame homosexual women who cheat as wanting to have a superior child? I don't think so. I am sure in some small instances women cheat because they subconciously think they will have a superior child with a certain man, but I really think the main reason is that women who cheat need a thrill, or need the attention they feel they are deprived.

Not to say that men are to blame for cheating wives. Men probably cheat for the same exact reasons as women; the need for connection and intimacy that is lacking with their spouse.

This article gave me a good laugh.

Everybody likes some strange once and again. Variety is the spice of life.

OK!

"Let's be honest with ourselves".

OK, "Fuck a duck" is no longer just an expression.lol

CherylMeryl:

Let's he honest with ourselves; women cheat because they are not receiving the affection/ attention/ admiration they need from their partners.

Excuse me, Cheryl, but a woman cheats because she is immoral. She willingly violates the moral standard to which she vowed to uphold, before God, her family, friends, and the state. This hypocricy and corruption of onself is deemed negotiable because one lacks moral fiber and goodness.

A person who cheats is immoral and corrupted. A woman does not get a 'pass' because she lacks affection and attention.

And this study is just plain stupid. Its quasi-science. I wonder about the actual ulterior motivations of these "clinical psychologists".

Well I think some women cheat because the like the sex. The subject of the article which is a female having multiple intercourse with more than one partner is a case in point. Once experienced it can become habit forming, and that applies to both men and women. I learned the joys of it from a lady who was very enthusiastic and I can see the evolutionary benefits clearly from that article.