Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Cuckhold!

According to an article in the July/August issue of The Atlantic Monthly, it is common knowledge among geneticists that "5 to 15 percent of the men on birth certificates are not the biological fathers of their children."

That might not come as a surprise to folks aware that human males long ago evolved adaptions to human females having more than one sexual partner. It is known, for instance, that the shape of the penis makes it an efficient pump for removing semen -- presumably competitor's semen -- from the vagina.

If humans had evolved only one reproductive strategy, people would never debate whether this or that strategy was morally superior. Instead, we'd all follow that one strategy and probably not even consider the possibility there might be other strategies. Flexible mating arrangements sure makes our species morally interesting.

1 comment:

Ashwin said...

I don't understand.
If the penis pumps competing semen out of the vagina, why wouldn't the father be the person who has sex?
Unless you're talking about married women who cheat?

My initial thought was unmarried people.