The Origins of Human Sexuality - 2085 Words

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†¦show more content†¦This competition, according to the theory, makes the winners win bigger, and the losers#8230;more likely to be total losers. In their discussion of parental investment Daly and Wilson specify three different types of division. Larger females and smaller males characterize the first category called polyandry. In polyandrous species we see males making the larger parental investment, females being more combative, and males tending to out live their female counterparts. The second category is known as a monogamous breeding system. In this system the male and female parental investments are identical, the number of offspring each sex can have is identical and the fitness variances are equal. In monogamous species the male and female tend to be indistinguishable in that they are often the same size and carry the same markings. Monogamous species also have nearly the life expectancy. The final category is known as polygamy. Polygamy is a system in which the female makes the biggest parental investment. In polygamous species the male is often larger and more combative than the female and tends to live a shorter life. According to Daly and Wilson humans best fit into this last group. According to Daly and Wilson humans are the products of a mild but sustained polygynous competition. The Evolution of Desire In his book The Evolution of Desire, David M. BussShow MoreRelatedWhy Are People Gay?967 Words   |  4 Pages Not just a century ago, there was an act that was considered heresy; homosexuality, a different side of sexuality found in all recesses of history. Humans are not the only ones with evidence of homosexuality in their species, it has long been debated whether it was formed from being genetically born that way or nurtured. The long found history has been only puzzling as the two sides of the spectrum in views, and only being publicly accepted in the 1940s. In Natasha Tracy’s article â€Å"Why AreRead MoreHow Tantra Is A Spiritual Tradition1505 Words   |  7 Pagesenlightenment through the use of sexuality. Or, if said another way, sexuality does not stand in the way of spiritual enlightenment but can be used for enlightenment. 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