Why Men are Jerks - Part II - Sexual Strategies, Evolution, and DNA

Why Men are Jerks - Part II - Sexual Strategies, Evolution and DNA

Sexual strategies, Evolution, and DNA

To better understand unhealthy and cruel behavior by men towards women, we must look at the various components or influences that each person expresses as behavior in their lives.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the reasons for behavior are complex and multifaceted, and include a variety of components including evolution, environment, and choice.

Today, I want to focus on the first of these: Evolution and DNA. I will address the behavior of men using women for their sexual pleasure.

Lets go back in time for a minute and look at the origins of sexual reproduction.

It started back a billion years ago when the little creatures of the earth learned how to join together to create a new creature. In the world of biology we call this meiosis and it was the beginning of our sexuality.

In time, as numerous creatures came into existence various strategies emerged to help bring forth new life while keeping one's genes "alive" or rather to continue on one's genetic lineage.

In our human ancestors, we see an ability evolve to know with whom one could mate. This ability progressed to a state where animals could recognize not only gender but also (in the human), those females who had the ability to reproduce.

Then came the development of sexual strategies. In other words, creatures needed to figure out how best to get their genes passed onto the next generation.

For males, the earliest strategy in animals seems to be one of impregnating as many females as possible. This strategy worked for many animals and is what we see in most of the animal world today. However, in our human ancestors, males who invested time, energy, and care in their offspring had infants who survived better and longer than those who did not have this care. The infants with an involved father would have a better chance of survival than those who did not. Hence, it became biologically and evolutionarily beneficial for males to care for their offspring. In the world of anthropology, this father's care is called, male parental investment (MPI).

From MPI came adult pair bonding which has since evolved to long term mating. Pair bonding and MPI were the factors that led to the early family.

So, in the male DNA, we have both the animalistic, primitive strategy of impregnating as many females as possible, and we have a much more highly evolved strategy of male parental investment and pair bonding with the adult female mate.

Today, research is quite conclusive that humans survive much better when bonded to another human being and we know that children do much better in life when two parents are involved. There is no question that this strategy has evolved because it is in the best interest of the individual human generally, and children, or offspring specifically.

So, to return to the question, why are some men jerks? Or why do some men use women's bodies for their sexual pleasure?

What we learn from evolution and various sexual strategies in the animal world, is that men who use women for their sexual pleasure or engage in promiscuity, reflect the more primitive behavior of wanting to impregnate as many females as possible. This strategy, while primitive, is today clearly not in the best interest of children, women, or even the men themselves. Research is clear that men who are married are happier and live longer than those who are not.

While there are those men whose behavior reflect this animalistic strategy, there are certainly other men who embrace a more evolved ability to pair bond with a women, care for family and invest their energy in their offspring. These are the men that make great husbands and fathers.

In today's world, most of those in developed nations, men and women alike, value family and children and relationships. There is no question about this. But we still see some men who use women... a remnant of an archaic strategy that no longer is in the best interest of humankind or our universe.



This very brief overview is meant only as a light summary. Please feel free to ask questions.