Battle of the Sexes: Evolution Edition

"Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There is too much fraternizing with the enemy." Henry Kissinger

Kissinger made a sex joke? Wow.

Let me see if I can sum up some of these studies. Ladies first.

Physically:
Women are at their most fertile from their late teens to about forty. They are fertile once per month and at that time they are more sexually aggressive and more likely to sleep with men that don't use protection. Attractive, voluptuous women are not only three times more fertile than average women, they are more intelligent as well.

Activity:
As said, women are more interested in sex while ovulating and are more attracted to handsome men. When sleeping with a good looking man, a woman will orgasm 75% of the time. The women paired with unattractive men will have orgasms 30% of the time. The average was 60%. There is some evidence that a woman's orgasm helps pull sperm into the uterus. Womens behavior while fertile changes, as fMRI scans found that women's area of the brain that is involved with risk taking is more active. They may be more likely to drink and have unprotected sex.

Women wont sleep with just anyone. A study of semi attractive men in college asked very good looking female students if they wanted to have sex. None of the women said yes. Women can tell (subconsciously) when a man is sexually attracted to them, because a man's sweat when he is aroused smells different from normal sweat. When women cheat, they have more orgasms, have the affair while ovulating and sleep with the best looking men. Women also tend to have the best orgasms with wealthy men.

The mens turn.

Physically:
Tall men are routinely said to be the most attractive to women. Height and weight are ruled by the hormone testosterone. The higher the testosterone level a man has, the healthier his sperm are. Attractive men ejaculate less sperm per round of sex but pump out the best quality. Unattractive men have high sperm counts but they tend to be bad swimmers and deformed.

Activity:
Good looking men of average intelligence tend to have more sex (and start earlier in life) than less attractive men. Men with high IQs tend to have less sex than men of average intelligence but have higher quality sperm. However, intelligent men tend to be more successful later in life and make more money. (Remember, women have more orgasms with wealthy men.) This may work out well for the intelligent men, as older men paired with healthy younger women have the most and healthiest children.

Good looking men tend to be less faithful to their wives and girlfriends. Men can subconsciously tell when a woman is ovulating, and tend to be more jealous of other men and more affectionate when they are. Men are less picky about who they sleep with. The same study that found that zero women sleep with semi attractive men when they approach the women for sex found that 75% of very good looking men agree to have sex with semi attractive women when the women ask.

After Sex:
There is even more that leads to a pregnancy that just the risk taking with the most fertile partner. Sperm have a sense of smell and touch, which leads them to the egg. The area around an egg is about two degrees warmer than the rest of the womb and the sperm are attracted to heat. Even a half degree increase will attract the sperm. Basal body temperature taking has been used for decades to determine if a woman has ovulated, as their body will get warmer. Ovulation stimulates the production of progesterone, a hormone that increases body temperature.

Conclusion:
The best looking members of the opposite sex are so attractive for a good reason: they're healthier and more intelligent. Curvy women are the most fertile and intelligent and the handsome men are the best quality sperm donors, even if they are more likely to have an affair. The women with the curves will be easier to get pregnant and will have orgasms with the men that have the best sperm. Good looking women wont sleep with just anyone, but good looking men probably will.

Both men and women may be able to pick up pheromone signals from each other. Men give more money to ovulating strippers than menstruating ones and women can smell when a man is sexually aroused. A woman's sense of smell is best at ovulation, so she is aroused and able to tell is a man is also aroused.

Is there any evidence that all of this has any effect on the real world? Just look at the unintended pregnancy and abortion numbers. Half of all pregnancies are unintended and twenty two percent of pregnancies are aborted. The sheer numbers show that something is happening that makes pregnancy a common occurrence. It doesn't happen by chance.

Its not an accident when a drunk gets behind the wheel of a car, yet "only" 33,000 people died of drunk driving accidents in 2009. Over one million women get pregnant unexpectedly each year. In 2006, 846,181 legal abortions were reported to the Center for Disease Control from 49 states. Women are not consciously getting themselves pregnant. In fact, most of the time they go to great lengths to avoid getting pregnant. Its a subconscious, biological drive to procreate that is resulting in so many unplanned pregnancies.