Sex at Dawn Summary

Of all the readings from the semester so far, the two selected chapters from ­­­­Sex at Dawn were easily among the most interesting for me.  The first chapter discusses the standard narrative of human sexual evolution, which is the most commonly accepted theory for human sexual evolution.  The authors begin by laying out that humans are extremely sexual creatures, and that both sexes “certainly find pleasure” in sex, even though our biological sexes mean that we look for different things in sex and relationships (47).  The chapter addresses initially the differences between males and females when it comes to sexual libido, as well as the reasons behind sexual relations for each sex.  The authors then offer the four “major areas of research that incorporate the most widely accepted assumptions” about the standard narrative (48), which are: the relatively weak female libido, male parental investment, sexual jealousy and paternity certainty, and extended receptivity and concealed (or cryptic) ovulation.

            However, before getting into these four main topics for the chapter, Rayn and Jetha outline the economics behind sex for both men and women.  They suggest that the old logic of standard evolutionary theory is based on the idea that “leaving a genetic legacy is our sole purpose in life” (50).  The focus then turns to male and female roles in society.  Historically and psychologically, men have provided goods and services in exchange for “consistent sexual access” to one female (49).  They then look at the idea of a “return on investment,” which basically means that each parent wants their offspring to live and succeed, but the inputs depend on the sex.  For men, it is far easier for them to want to sleep with a lot of women, while remaining close to one to ensure that no other men jeopardize their “investment.”  For women, they look for the right man who will stay with them, provide the necessary things to survive, and help with fatherly tasks during childhood.  Essentially, Rayn and Jetha say that women exchange their sexual services for access to resources from men.

            From here, the chapter moves into the four main points, starting with the fact that women have a significantly lesser libido when compared to men.  Many studies have reportedly been done that suggest women are far less inclined to jump into bed as readily as men.  The takeaway from the section is that women are far less inclined to engage in casual sex.  Secondly, the chapter focuses on male parental investment, which basically says that men have an invested role in the success of their offspring, once they find a woman that they “lay claim to” (50).  However, this idea also encompasses the idea that women are more interested in quality over quantity when it comes to sex partners, due to the high level of female investment.  Most interestingly, theorists find that the levels of male parental investment are much higher than with other primates.  This apparently leads to both men and women competing for the other gender’s investment in sexual selection, which is rare.

            The second to last section of the chapter concerns the “battle” between the sexes, based on their best “economic” actions regarding sex and contributing to the gender pool, while also ensuring the best for their offspring, which is looks to the different types of jealously each sex feels with their partners.  Men tend to feel more anxious about sexual infidelity, while women tend to fear emotional infidelity, which is very interesting to me in particular.    Women are more worried about the emotional stability of the relationship, because according to standard narrative, it is the tie that keeps the man of her life providing her with the things she needs.  Men, on the other hand, worry about sexual infidelity, because it can mean that they are providing for a child that is not their own, which would be a huge waste of investment.  The authors then lay out the ideal goals for men and women.  Men, following this mixed strategy model, would ideally get a woman pregnant, and continue to have as much casual sex as possible on the side while providing for the original woman and ensuring she doesn’t sleep around.  Women, on the other hand, would attempt to extract a long-term commitment from a man to provide from her, but then sneak out and sleep with other more sexually desirable men on the side. The chapter concludes with a discussion concerning the fact that women are basically the only mammals that don’t have an obvious sign showing when they are the most fertile.  There are two theories that suggest why this is, but they don’t agree on much.  One believes it is to keep men interested and away from other partners due to the chance that she could always be the most fertile, while the other theory suggests it is to confuse men such that women could sleep with several men to protect her wellbeing.  Either way, the chapter concludes by saying that humans are extremely sexual creatures, and that the standard narrative suggests that human sexual history is marked by deceit and confusion.

            The second chapter made a little bit less sense than me.  From the title, it would appear that the chapter should debunk the standard narrative, yet in my opinion, it does a poor job.  Rayn and Jetha look to a few select cultures that seem to operate in a different way than ours or any other patriarchal society.  First, they look at the Mosuo, a tribe in China whose sexual history is markedly different than any other.  The women reach maturity at 13, which allows them their own room to which any other male can come on a given night, and the details are not spread later.  Any offspring are cared for by the adults of the entire culture, rather than forming the traditional families.  In some cases, individuals have sex with hundreds of individuals, and they do not look on this number with pride or shame in any sense.  The chapter also looks to another culture in which neither sex seems to dominate, but instead “males and females complement one another” (133).  Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion on monogamy, and concludes by saying that it is a purely social construct and that no other animal is absolutely monogamous, even though other species have the illusion of being monogamous for certain periods of time.  The human understanding of monogamy does not exist elsewhere, and neither do socially constructed things such as “marriage,” “mating,” and “love” (137).