A new book titled “Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality” seeks to prove the thesis that human biology and evolution was designed to facilitate multiple sexual partners. The author of this book, Christopher Ryan, traces the origins of this work back to his doctoral thesis on the subject. He selected this arena of study during the height of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, and he sought to identify the origins of the urge to sleep around which drives many to take otherwise unthinkable risks. Since the time of Lewinsky, myriad men including Tiger Woods, John Edwards and Elliot Spitzer have borne out this theory, and Ryan asserts that society’s expectation that you should be with one partner for 50 years goes against human nature.
This book documents that adultery has been rampant in every human culture ever studied, and that a man’s inner urge to spread his seed far and wide is as compelling as the urge to eat or breath. The author further claims that evolution has also prompted women to desire to spread their risk and seek genes from multiple men so as to ensure at least one healthy child. The author strives to bifurcate love versus sex — he claims that love is different from lust and that family unit relationships based upon love are preferred. However, he also asserts that occasional random sex outside of the relationship does not indicate any less love for your partner — an argument many guys would be hard pressed to make to their wives. However, if you wanna make a go at that, you can use this book as a reference when trying to convince her it is ok for you to chase an occasional waitress or barrista.
File this one under nice work, Captain Obvious. A new study by a University of Iowa sociologist found that it is likely for people in sexual relationships to have multiple partners these days. Professor Anthony Paik surveyed 783 heterosexuals between the ages of 18 and 60 to find out about their sexual partners and there were some interesting results. The study was published in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Of women, 17% responded that they had been monogamous to their last partner but the partner hadn’t been. 8% of men answered that question the same way. Concerning situations where neither partner was monogamous, 12% of women and 10% of men said this was the case for their last sexual relationship.
Things got interesting on the question of whether being involved with a friend or stranger makes it more likely to have multiple partners. The study said that being involved with a friend makes a woman 44% more likely to have multiple partners, but only makes a man 25% more likely. On the other hand, being involved with a stranger made men 43% percent more likely to have more partners, but only 30% of women answered the same way. It was basically the opposite, meaning women feel more comfortable having multiple partners if one of those is a friend, while men will look to have multiple partners when involved with strangers.
While anyone paying attention to pop culture for the past few years could tell you that casual sex has been increasing, it is cool to say actual proof of it in the form of this study. Also the insight on the differences in men and women’s approach to the subject brings some understanding to how each of the sexes looks at hooking up with more than one person at once.
