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impotance of human sexuality
the theory of human sexuality
impotance of human sexuality
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The Origins of Human Sexuality
In their book Homicide, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson put forth a theory that challenges human societies common notion of human sexuality. They do this in an attempt to bring about a better understanding of homicide and male aggressiveness. According to Daly and Wilson, males instigate the overwhelming majority of "dangerous altercations" and they contend that this is due to "status competition." Status competition is the idea that males must aggressively compete for sexual access to females in order to pass on their genes.
Daily and Wilson cite the work of Charles Darwin, who in 1859 published a famous work on the theory of natural selection. The concepts presented in his book were later elaborated in his second work, which dealt with the concept of "sexual selection." Sexual selection according to Darwin's theory, was based on the observation that not all evolutionary adaptations serve a survival function; that in many cases, "a trait might be penalized by 'natural' selection and yet win out by 'sexual' selection." Darwin argued that surviving and living a long life did not ensure reproductive success and therefore an animal's goal of longevity is secondary to its goal of passing on its genes through procreation. These ideas form the foundation for Martin Daly and Margo Wilson's theory.
Daly and Wilson also refer to the research done by a British geneticist named A.J. Bateman to strengthen their arguments for the idea of status competition. Bateman's research focused on lab experiments done on Drosophila or fruit flies. The experiments consisted of taking fruit flies with "distinct genetic markers" and placing them in jars. It was made sure that each jar contained an equal number o...
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...evidence seems to suggest that men and women have evolved unconscious desires that do not change with sexual preference. Men and women tend to exhibit their expected sexual behavior regardless of their sexual preference.
Conclusion
The two books examined in this paper, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson's Homicide and David M. Buss's The Evolution of Desire, suggest that human mating strategies have an evolutionary basis. The book written by Martin Daly and Margo Wilson supplies the theoretical groundwork and the book written by David M. Buss gives validity and empirical support for the theory. The two books make a strong scientific argument for evolutionary adaptations as the most crucial element to understanding human sexuality and desire. According to this argument, the key to understanding human sexuality lies in the evolutionary origin of our species.
Charles Darwin contributed majorly to the evolutionary theory and was the first to consider the concept of natural selection. The evolutionary theory states that evolutionary change comes through the production of genetic variation in each generation and survival of individuals with different combinations of these characters. Individuals with characteristics which increase their probability of survival will have more opportunities to reproduce and their offspring will also benefit from the heritable, advantageous characteristic. So over time these variants will spread through the population. (S.Montgomery, 2009)
Reproduction in Homo sapiens, as in all animals, is a primary driving force and has been elaborated upon since the beginnings of society. Humans must take part in sexual reproduction to produce offspring, thus initiation behaviors can be studied. Commonly, the male makes advances and the female is the selector, or chooses the mate. For humans, this holds true and behavior is modified to maximize competitive receptability. This phenomenon carries across all cultural boundaries and is deeply rooted in the overall behavior patterns in the people of the culture. People try to refine their natural appearance to maximize mating opportunity. The males attempt to enhance features for success in initiation and females compete for receptability completeness.
Many people cannot understand why anyone would want to get involved in homosexual activity. There are many arguments about homosexuality whether is by nature or nurture. Before we make judgments on homosexuality, we need to identify the causes of homosexuality. Homosexuality is caused by genetic, biological and environmental factors.
In the article “An Anthropological Look at Human Sexuality” the authors, Patrick Gray and Linda Wolfe speak about how societies look at human sexuality. The core concept of anthology is the idea of culture, the systems of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors people acquire as a member of society. The authors give an in depth analysis on how human sexuality is looked at in all different situations.
The article, On Human Nature: Sex and the Single Monkey, was published by The Sciences over fifteen years ago. Written by Robert Sapolsky, the article addresses a multitude of mating concepts and theories between female and male organisms, including humans and primates. I would not say that the article is dated from the concept of anatomical and physiological behaviors and reactions because these remain constant. However, a glaring component is missing in this article based on our changing times and socially accepted beliefs. I also find the article too narrow in scope leaving several questions unanswered.
Humans are essentially complex animals and animals form the backbone of what humans evolved from. Researchers in the University of Oslo has found that homosexuality is predominant in the animal kingdom with a recorded amount of over 1500 animals who engage in same-sex activities (M. News, 2006). Animals exhibit the most pure form of natural instincts. Stigma is a big concern in human life as humans collectively decide which acts are deemed in tune with society. Homosexuality is exhibited and is essential in the lives of some animal species, therefore homosexuality holds ancestry from the animal kingdom and thus is natural. Homosexuality would be unnatural if...
In order to understand the present lifestyles relating to different approaches and tactics applied by humans in mate choice preferences, there is the need to refer to Darwin (1859, 1871) evolutionary perspectives. Darwin (1871) sexual selection is the driving force for males and females reproductive quest for their genes survival. These driving forces have been classified into two categories as intra-sexual and intersexual mate selection.Intersexual selection is male sexual selection process whereby males compete with other males and the females choose the strongest as their ideal partner. Intra-sexual selection occurs when the male species fight among themselves and the strongest gain access to females for
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
This standard model is known as the seual strategies theory ( Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Buss argues that any species in which differences exist, there will be corresponding sex differences in mating behaviors. The biological reality in humans is that males need minimal investment, a single ejaculation, to reproduce their genes. The cost of female reproduction is traditionally years of investment including gestation, lactation and offspring care. In theory, such one sided investment has resulted in sex-specific selection strategies for reproductive success (Beckes et al. 2009). Human males ‘naturally’ track down opportunities to copulate with as many female partners as possible, specifically those who display signs of fertility. By ‘nature’ human females are more sexually cautious and prefer one male partner who can provide resources to be shared with their offspring. Though emphasis is on sex differences, sexual strategies theorists state that mating behavior--under specific circumstances--can be similar between men and women. The inevitable conclusion from their work is the differences between the sexes regarding mating preferences. The main focus of the sexual strategies theory is that all human mating is inherently strategic. Mating behavior is guided by psychological mechanisms that compel both males and females to desire certain qualities in a mate based
The next topic of the essay was how sexuality correlated with aggression. Several tests were given out to both men and women asking them whether they saw themselves as very passionate or not at all, but with the men's test they correlated being passionate with aggression, where as they didn't do that with the women. This test showed that men are more assertive than women in relationships. Men also initiate touching and other sexual things. Rape is considered the extreme link between aggression and sexuality. This being said, there are tendencies in men of showing the wrong kind of aggression in relationships that could lead to rape.
The behaviors of the Pokot wives and husbands illustrated in the article “Human sexuality in cross-culture Perspective” show the norms of sexuality behaviors that are different from the U.S norms. The Pokot wives believe that their behaviors are right things to be done or are the appropriate sanctions given to a husband who is not able to sexually satisfy his wife. However, the US perceives these behaviors differently. In the US perspective, it is considered to be a deviance that is against the law within the society. It is considers to be domestic abuse which might lead some individuals involved in this behaviors to be given a negative sanctions like sending them to prison.
The theory of social darwinism was first introduced to the public[1] in “A Theory of Population, Deduced from the General Law of Animal Fertility”, an article by Herbert Spencer published in 1852. This work preceded the publishing of Darwin’s book by seven years, and “given the timing, it is curious that Darwin’s theory was not labeled ‘natural Spencerism’ instead of Spencer’s theory being labeled ‘social Darwinism.’”[2] Spencer’s article, though mainly focused on biology and the ways in which animal populations develop, does include an inkling of the social ideas he would later more fully examine. His main theory of population deals with survival of the fittest, a phrase he coins in this a...
...ionary history, both men and women have evolved mechanisms that have functioned to solve adaptive problems that they encounter in pursuing successful long-term and short-term mating. These mechanisms along with behavior constitute the evolved sexual strategies of men and women. "Strategies are defined as evolved solutions to adaptive problems, with no consciousness or awareness on the part of the strategist implied (Buss, Schmitt 206)."
From birth, one's sexuality is shaped by society. Cultures institute behaviors that are to be seen as the societal norms, which work to constantly reinforce societal expectations of how genders should act in relation to one another. Although some may argue that one's sexuality is an innate characteristic resulting from genetic makeup, there is a large amount of evidence pointing to its social construction instead. Through the power differences between males and females, established gender roles, and drastic economic shifts, society establishes sexuality and reinforces the behaviors that are expected of its citizens.
A fundamental step for understanding the links between human nature and intimate relationships is by understanding human sexuality. Alfred Kinsey, in his pioneering study on human sexual behaviour, illustrated the degree to which individuals differ in their sexual attitudes, beliefs and preferences (Kinsey, Pomeroy & Martin, 1948). In particular, a marked difference was highlighted in individuals’ sociosexual attitudes and behaviours. Following this, many of the sociosexual features individuals differ in, including preferred frequency of sexual intercourse, the number of different sexual partners they predict to have in the future, and their willingness to engage in uncommitted relationships, have shown to covary (Eysenk, 1976, as cited in Barnes, Malamuth & Check, 1984). Considered together, these features compose an individual difference dimension named sociosexuality (Snyder, Simpson & Gangestad, 1986). Sociosexuality reflects the tendency to engage in uncommitted, casual sexual encounters (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991). Those with a restricted sociosexual orientation typically prefer closeness and commitment from their romantic partner before engaging in sex (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991). Such individuals claim they rarely have one-night stands, and require emotional intimacy within a romantic relationship before feeling comfortable with sex (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991). Conversely, unrestricted individuals require little or no emotional bond with a partner in order to have sex. These individuals are more likely to be involved in extra-marital relationships (Seal, Agostinelli & Hannett, 1994), and exhibit more frequent displays of sexual assertiveness such as flirting (Simpson, Gangestad & Nations, 1996).