The Evolutionary Biology of Human Female Sexuality
- ISBN-10
- 0195340981
- ISBN-13
- 9780195340983
- Category
- Health & Fitness
- Pages
- 411
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2008
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Authors
- Randy Thornhill, Steven W. Gangestad
Description
Research conducted over the last fifteen years has placed in question many of the traditional conclusions about the evolution of human female sexuality. Women have not lost estrus, as earlier researchers thought, but it is simply concealed, resulting in two functionally distinct sexualitieswith markedly different ends in each phase. At the fertile phase of the cycle, women prefer male traits that may mark superior genetic quality, and at infertile phases, they prefer men willing to invest resources in a mate. Thus, women's peri-ovulatory sexuality functions to obtain a sire ofsuperior genetic quality, and is homologous with estrus in other vertebrates. This model sheds light on male human sexuality as well: men perceive and respond to women's estrus, including by increased mate guarding. Men's response is limited, compared to other vertebrate males, implyingcoevolutionary history of selection on females to conceal estrus from men and selection on men to detect it. Research indicates that women's concealed estrus is an adaptation to copulate conditionally with men other than the pair-bond partner.Women's sexual ornaments-the estrogen-facilitatedfeatures of face and body-are honest signals of individual quality pertaining to future reproductive value.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2008-09-25
- 424 pages
- Ebook
- Oxford University Press
-
- 2008-09-25
- 424 pages
- Ebook
- Oxford University Press
Similar books
-
The Evolution of Human Sexuality
By Donald SymonsA central theme of this book is that, with respect to sexuality, there is a female human nature and a male human nature, and these natures are extraordinarily different, though the differences are to some extent masked by the compromises ...
-
Looking for a Few Good Males: Female Choice in Evolutionary Biology
By Erika L. MilamAnyone interested in our ambivalence over the degree to which humanity’s roots lay in its animal nature will benefit from reading this book."— PsycCRITIQUES "Milam demonstrates that sexual selection has been contentious and politically ...
-
The Evolution of Sexuality
By Todd K. Shackelford, Ranald D. HansenFollowing earlier titles in this series, an interdisciplinary panel of contributors examines topics specific to the whys of male and female sex-related behavior, here ranging from biological bases for male same-sex attraction to the ...
-
Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior
By Peter B. GrayA comprehensive survey of the evolutionary science of human sexual behavior, Evolution and Human Sexual Behavior invites us to imagine human sex from the vantage point of our primate cousins, in order to underscore the role of evolution in ...
-
Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality
By Jared DiamondWith wit and a wealth of fascinating examples, Why Is Sex Fun? shows how our sexuality, as much as our large brains or upright posture, led to human' rise in the animal kingdom.
-
The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us
By Richard O. PrumMuller, M. N., S. M. Kahlenberg, and R. W. Wrangham. 2009. “Male Aggression Against Females and Sexual Coercion in Chimpanzees.” In Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans: An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Aggression Against Females, ...
-
Female Choices: Sexual Behavior of Female Primates
By Meredith F. SmallFemale Choices opens with the evolution of sexual reproduction and of males and females as distinct forms. Small then introduces primates and gives a detailed history of the average female's life cycle.
-
Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
By Christopher Ryan, Cacilda JethaIn the tradition of the best historical and scientific writing, Sex at Dawn unapologetically upends unwarranted assumptions and unfounded conclusions while offering a revolutionary understanding of why we live and love as we do.
-
Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution
By Leonard ShlainSex, Time, and Power offers a tantalizing answer to an age-old question: Why did big-brained Homo sapiens suddenly emerge some 150,000 years ago? The key, according to Shlain, is female sexuality.
-
Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?
By Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Committee on Understanding the Biology of Sex and Gender DifferencesFrom behavior and cognition to metabolism and response to chemicals and infectious organisms, this book explores the health impact of sex (being male or female, according to reproductive organs and chromosomes) and gender (one's sense of ...