This article contains some established facts, some theories from evolutionary psychology and a lot of fun. Put together, these insights create a novel way of looking at ourselves.
The social organisation of the ape species Homo sapiens has evolved to be dominated by males. In almost all primitive societies, high status males choose which females they want as mates.
High status males have the best genes. Females (and their families) want their children to have these genes too.
Females can arrange to become fertilised by a high status male by:
> Being high status themselves (of good family with resources) and getting married.
> Being beautiful (thus showing good health and genes), and becoming a wife, mistress or concubine.
Note: "Beautiful" can mean two things:
a) Looking like a virgin: childlike - slim, narrow hips, big eyes, small breasts, smooth skin (hence not carrying another man's child)
b) Looking fertile: big hips and breasts (In the West African country of Liberia, for example, a woman must prove her fertility by having a baby before she is considered to be marriageable)
> Being available (e.g. a servant - This adds genetic variation )
Women never choose their husbands, but they can choose their lovers. It is an interesting fact that married women are most likely to be unfaithful during the time of the month when they are most fertile. This means that lower status men have a chance of having children with high status females without having the responsibility of caring for their offspring.
Low status males can also father children with high status females through rape and by capturing women in war.
In modern western societies, infant mortality rates are low and women rarely die in childbirth. With contraception and education, females can now choose when to conceive and who will be their mate.
However they still want their children to have the best genes possible. So modern women try to attract high status males and compete with other females to get them by:
a) Trying to look like a real high status female (such as Angelina Jolie)
b) Trying to look young and virginal (by dieting, the use of makeup, skin creams or even face-lift cosmetic surgery)
c) Trying to look fertile (again by cosmetic surgery, such as breast enhancements)
d) Being available ( for example, hanging around with a successful pop group and becoming a "groupie")
These women are not so liberated as they think !
Recent generations have seen the development of a new variety of female. She is an independent, highly educated, intelligent female (IEI female) and she is a biological anomaly.
In the male-dominated society of Homo sapiens she is perceived to be competing in status with males, not other females.
Males tend to treat such females as competitors rather than potential mothers of their children. The females, having attained such high, "male" status are reluctant to give up this position to take up the more subservient role of wife and mother.
This situation is anomalous, since intelligent educated females have genes which males should desire for their children.
However, a cultural change is happening in the developed world, so that IEI females can now be active contributors to the gene pool, to the benefit of the population as a whole.
Advanced health care in these societies means that few children die when young. Thus males no longer need to fertilise many women to ensure the continuation of their genetic line. A few, very high status children should be sufficient. A new variety of male is developing. These men are willing to invest more resources and time in the fewer children they have (though this does not necessarily stop them indulging in extra-marital actvity, just for insurance purposes).
From the female perspective, the chances of dying in childbirth are small, women can now choose the father(s) of their children and even at what age they have children since age related infertility can be overcome through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
The IEI female will choose a male who values her intellect, who is willing to share in the responsibilities of parenthood, and is even willing to become (to a degree) subservient himself in the process of child rearing. In this more equal partnership both can continue with their careers.
Note: In some cultures, this variety of male is rather rare.
Interestingly, women who use IVF clinics tend to choose sperm donors who are "nice guys" based on their personality profiles. That is, they choose men who are clever, loving and kind. This type of donor becomes father to more children than the "macho" type which is less frequently selected.
High status women in Western society can also pass on their genes without having the responsibility and inconvenience of child-rearing. They can become egg donors. It is interesting that obese, uneducated women are not welcome in these programmes while the eggs of women with high educational qualifications are in big demand.
However, despite this seeming progress, traditional cultural values are still strong. An IEI woman who chooses to have a career and have a child while working is likely to be treated with suspicion and criticism by some sectors of society (example: Carme Chacón, the Minister of Defense in Spain). If she has a child and no permanent male partner she may acquire a reputation for being selfish and hard (example Rachida Dati, Justice Minster in France).
The husband of an exceptional IEI female was recently elected president of the most powerful country on the planet. You might expect that her IEI status would be enhanced with the elevation of her mate to high office. However this is not the case. On the contrary she has been reclassified as a traditional high status female, and is portrayed in the media as a glamorous wife and mother. Use of her Harvard Law degree and work as a successful lawyer has been set aside. It seems that she must not be seen to be competing with her husband.
(No prizes for guessing who this female is!)
by Dr Christine Betterton-Jones BSc. (Zoology), PhD (Parasitology)
