This is rather a detailed review of each scene in sperm wars. Hope it is
of some use. (it is only 7 A4 sides!) SPERM WARS ROBIN BAKER
Men's bodies are forever trying to make the best of a bad job, while
women^s body outsmarts and outmanoeuvres them at almost every turn PG
27.
CH 1: Our personal characteristics depend on our genes, passed down
through generations, within eggs and sperm. The generation game-
members compete to pass their genes onto the next generation. Each
generation has winners and losers, yet we are all programmed to try to
win the generation^s game of reproduction i.e. reproductive success.
CH2 S2: Routine sex important for reproductive success. ( also
important in sperm warfare, see ch3S6 ) People do not have routine sex
primarily to produce children. Men and woman^s bodies are programmed by
their genes to seek sex with their partner at intervals, as a matter of
routine. Routine sex also makes a difference to the number of children,
grand children etc.. that you have, without the conscious brain
knowing.For men routine sex maintains a population of sperm inside his
partner. For women: their bodies are trying it confuse the man so he
never knows consciously or subconsciously, the best time to inseminate
her. Women hide their fertility so her partner can not gard her so
intensively, therefore having control over who inseminates her. To aid
in the confusion she varies her menstrual cycle. The part of the cycle
that varies most, is the part that would be most useful to her partner,
the number of days from the beginning of menstruation to ovulation. She
also has subconscious changes in mood with a take it or leave it
interest in sex throughout her cycle, not only confusing her partner
But also her self. Not being able to predict the best time to
inseminate, routine sex allows fertile sperm to always be inside her.
^ what is best for one partner is very often not best for the other ^
pg10.
S3:Flowback ( a mixture of seminal fluid and mucus ) is one of a
woman^s
CH4 S8:The last two scenes have described how people enhance their
reproductive success via infidelity. Such behaviour is only advantages
if the person concerned manages to gain the benefit of infidelity
without incurring its even greater costs. Just having one child may
increase reproduction success i.e. the child has a greater chance of
survival and growth to be healthier and wealthier and so be more
attractive to the opposite sex. Eventually this child should produce
children thus, continuation of his genes. Males are a particularly good
investment, having a greater chance of inseminating before a long term
partner, are more likely to attract a fertile female and have greater
opportunity for infidelity. He may even produce satellite children via
other women, often in the process tricking other men into raising his
child as if they were his own. The greatest reproductive success is by
striking a balance between the pursuit of wealth and status and the
production of children. The single child strategy can also fail due to
death or being infertile.
S9: There are pros and cons to both fidelity and infidelity. >
>From the view point of reproductive success, neither is inevitably
advantageous or disadvantageous. A man has a lot to lose from his
partner^s infidelity. He may be tricked into bringing up a child who is
not genetically his. He is also at greater risk from catching a
sexually transmitted disease ( std), because his partner is at greater
risk. She may also leave which may harm his reproductive success in the
future. There are two main ways to reduce his partners infidelity I)
possessiveness and jealousy 2) violence.- disadvantage to both involved
i.e. the need for co-operation to successfully reproduce, retaliation
and other individuals involved such as children.
S10: Oral sex is used to collect information from females. Males kneed
to know if she^s healthy, fertile and to see if she has recently had
sex with another man. Males use this information to change the number
of killers and egg getters ( sperm ) he introduces into her. This
method again works, but it would be better if a male body knew if
another man^s sperm was present. Of course, people do not always
realise that they are indulging in oral sex for the above reason.
Failure to seek information in this way could lead to a greater risk of
disease, a greater chance of inseminating an infertile woman, less
chance of winning sperm wars and a reduced chance of combating
infidelity. To conclude then females who responded to receiving oral
sex from an attractive male would become aroused and reproduce more
successfully than those who did not. Also males who gained sexual
stimulation performing oral sex will have reproduced more than those
who did not. Males and females therefore, inherit a predisposition to
find this behaviour stimulating.
S11: A woman has a lot to lose from her partners infidelity i.e. there
is a risk she will have to share his time, wealth, energy and other
resources. He might even leave her to bring a child up on her own.
Increased chance of catching an STD. There is no danger of being
tricked into raising a child which is not hers. This might mean that
infidelity is slightly less of a threat to a woman than it is to a
man. Males are never quite as subtle over there infidelity as women
and are more likely to be found out. Reproductively, infidelity has the
potential to benefit both men and women. Yet it can be costly. The
reproductive success of each generation will be those people who
consciously or subconsciously, judge correctly when it is and when it
is not advantageous to be unfaithful.
CH5 S12: Male masturbation or shedding sperm is an important part of
reproductive success. Masturbation is a way in which a man can tailor
his next insemination. Thus, allowing the man maximum flexibility in
adjusting his sperm army according to the risk of warfare.
Subconsciously the brain plays a major role in the anticipation of
insemination.
S13:The role of masturbation in a man^s pursuit of reproductive success
is not limited to its role in routine sex. In fact, it is a much more
potent weapon in his preparation for infidelity and sperm warfare. Once
the brain begins to anticipate infidelity, the body increases the
masturbation rate, thereby producing and maintaining a young, fitter
rich ejaculation in his tubes ( no more than 24 hours old ). A man
therefore need to hide his masturbation routine from his partner. The
more men and woman drink ( alcohol ) the more they seek sex, or at
least the less they resist it. Yet in reality the more men drink the
less likely they are to have it ( brewers droop ). Women on the other
hand are just less likely to enjoy is, due to decreased sensitivity of
the clitoris.
S14: Wet dreams in adolescents act as insurance, if he omits to do so
via masturbation or intercourse. As men get older wet dreams cease to
exist, his body seems to inhibit ejaculation even if he has an
erection.
S15: There are three different types of infertile menstrual cycles, and
most women
S20: A man seeks or allows oral sex as a display of health and
fidelity. The sperm were shed not wasted, creating a new load of
younger fitter sperm. Men^s bodies work to the rule: ^ if I have had
the opportunity to be unfaithful, then while I was away so too has my
partner.^^ Women subconsciously are after information not sperm i.e.
looking at the health of his body etc.. A woman uses oral sex much in
the same way as men do.
S21: Orgies are useful to the woman to create sperm warfare. The winner
having the most successful sperm. Yet sperm warfare is rarely fair. The
male organ is more than just a delivery vehicle for sperm. It is also a
suction piston to remove any material that is already present
internally in the woman (therefore good at removing any other sperm
still inside.) The man with the best chance of winning would be the one
who timed his own inseminations, to interfere most with other men^s
inseminations and best judged when and when not to thrust. The woman^s
role, in trying to further their own reproduction success, was to give
each man maximum opportunity to prove himself- and maximum chance to
make mistakes.
CH8 S22: ^Of all aspects of human sexuality, the female climax has
probably been the most enigmatic.^ How do climaxes influence a woman^s
reproductive success depending on the situation in which they occur? A
woman feels like an climax whenever it feels it will enhance her
reproductive success. Masturbation first increases mucus flow, getting
rid of cervical debris. Secondly masturbation increases the acidity of
the cervical mucus. Neither sperm or bacteria function in acidic
mucus. Thirdly masturbation changes the strength of a woman^s cervical
filter-most often strengthening it.
S23: Nocturnal climaxes are as important as wet dreams for men. The
function of these nocturnal climaxes is the same as masturbatory
climaxes.
S24: Is failure to have an climax during intercourse a successful part
of a woman^s subconscious strategy-yet another aspect of sexuality that
actually increases her reproductive success? When a woman does not have
an climax during intercourse, then the number and type of sperm she
retains are dictated by the cervical filter.
S25: A climax during intercourse does make a difference to the number
of sperm entering her cervix. Usually a climax during intercourse
weakens the cervical filter, allowing many more sperm to leave the
seminal pool. Multiple climax has an even greater effect on sperm
retention. A sexual episode is actually a contest between the man and
the woman. Each is forever trying to outmanoeuvre the other into doing
something that is against their body^s interests.
S26: Of all of the weapons used by a woman in her pursuit of
reproductive success, her climax sequence may well be the most
important, particularly when she promotes sperm warfare. Women are more
likely to, in the anticipation of sperm warfare, subconsciously prepare
the battlefield to favour her lover^s army. This is done by increasing
her masturbatory climaxes. However, this was only done when she thought
fidelity was on the horizon and the person most likely to inseminate
her was her lover. The woman^s body may decide that the lover would be
the better genetic father to her child, but the worse long-term
partner. Her body^s ploy was then to collect sperm from her lover but
not do anything else to jeopardise her present relationship. In Britain
the average frequency of masturbatory and nocturnal climaxes during
fidelity is one per week. During phases of infidelity, the rate
increases to about every other day. ^ As we have seen time and time
again, most of the strategies shown by men and women in relation to
ejaculation and climax are subconscious - orchestrated by the body via
sequences of mood libido and sensitivity to stimulation.^
CH9 S27: Arousal, erection and ejaculation are pre-programmed and
automatic, but the niceties of sex have to be acquired. If a man is
ever allowed to inseminate a woman he has to pick up subtleties of
courtship and stimulation. He then has to learn how to copulate quickly
and efficiently so as not to miss the opportunities his courtship
technique has provided. If a male mammal is not to miss out, he needs
to practice during adolescence. Failure to learn sexual technique
quickly during adolescence can soon result in missed opportunities for
insemination. This can result in serious influences on a man^s level of
reproductive success. Men have a lot to learn from gaining a woman^s
interest, to actually knowing what to do when they have it. A woman^s
body sets the man tests e.g. it is the male quality that is being
tested in his ability to learn how to use her body and cope with her
behaviour. The challenges are set to the man by varying her response to
what stimulates her. The advantage a woman gains from selecting the
more competent men are biological as well as sensual. The woman also
uses the mans approach to foreplay and intercourse to gain information
about him. If a man can stimulate the woman to an climax then she know
that he has had some passed experience. This tells her that other women
have also found him attractive. Thus, mixing her genes with his could
produce attractive offspring who are also attractive to the opposite
sex, hence increasing her reproductive success. Her urges to do all
these things are subconsciously performed by her body. For women it is
less important to learn sexual technique quickly but it will influence
the extent to which she makes the most of the opportunities that
present themselves i.e. spermwarfare.
S28: Rough and tumble play is a common element in the courtship of
humans and many other animals. Date rape victims were three times more
likely to resume their relationship if the man succeeded than if he
failed.
>From the view point of reproductive success, and disregarding
here any social pressures to which the man might be exposed, the siring
of a child with a woman other than a long-term partner need not be
expensive for him. A man^s reproductive success depends to a
significant extent on his ability to make the most of one off
opportunities. For the woman conception is a major event, one off
intercourse can seriously reduce her future reproductive success.
Caution and selectivity are of maximum importance and we are here today
because of our cautious ancestors. This is unless there is greater
genetic desirability, but this is usually through infidelity. Men are
descendants from urgent ancestors. On average, men who are physically
able to overcome the final defences of a female and achieve
insemination produce more offspring than those who don^t. So if a woman
wants her son to have these characteristics she has to set tests. She
therefore has to resist his advances. This can become rather
dangerous.
S29: For a woman today modern contraceptives are an important aid in
her pursuit of reproductive success. ( they are a useful weapon in her
manipulation of sperm war ). They can also enhance a males reproductive
success. Condoms do not spoil a woman^s subconscious rationale for
having routine sex, but they do spoil a man^s. She can still hide her
fertile phase. Yet a man^s sperm do not take up residence. Thus, men
are consciously and subconsciously not so enthusiastic about the
condom. For a woman casual sex does not lead to pregnancy, therefore
she gains from using the condom. There is yet another way in which they
both gain, condoms prevent the risk of catching a STD. Why then do men
wear condoms? Well, one possibility is that they are fooling there
subconscious body. The evidence for this is that they still go through
the same procedures as when they haven^t used a condom e.g. topping
up. The generation game has had little chance of reprogramming the
male body. If men actually did reduce their reproductive success
through the use of condoms, things should change over the generations
i.e. the population should become dominated by men who used condoms to
enhance their reproductive success. Three ways in which they could do
this: to convince the female that they are suitable and therefore later
have sex without a condom, to prevent conception at first in exchange
for unprotected sex in the future and due to the AIDS scare it could be
beneficial in that you could not catch AIDS and go on to inseminate yet
more females using the other two methods. The third method is to misuse
the condom in a way that it still allow some chance of fertilisation.
Another method of contraception is the withdrawal method. This provides
a man with fewer opportunities for intercourse, yet is less effective
than the condom so increasing the chance of insemination. Increasing
even further if you do not withdraw, yet women aren^t that gullible
twice!
CH10 S30: Women will on average sleep with 8 men whereas men on average
will sleep with 12. On average, they will produce two children and four
grandchildren. Others may be bisexual, some very promiscuous, yet
others may only ever have sex with just one person. Rape is also
another way in which males and females can force people to have sex
with them. Just because some of these strategies are uncommon, they are
not necessarily unsuccessful. Homosexual behaviour does not reduce the
likely hood of reproducing, quite the contrary. None of would be the
person that we are today if our ancestors had not shown homosexual
behaviour. Homosexual behaviour is not peculiar to humans. 6% of males
in Europe and the USA experience homosexual behaviour. The vast
majority of homosexuals show bisexual behaviour( 80% ). There is
evidence for a genetic relationship for homosexuality. Evidence
suggests that homosexuals and bisexuals are born and not made.
Homosexuality seems to be a genetic by-product of bisexuality.
Bisexual men have fewer children over a lifetime, yet earlier. ^ when
we talk about reproductive success, we really mean reproductive rate.^
On average a bisexual man will inseminate more females over a lifetime
than a homosexual man, a bisexual man is more likely to have children
with different mothers. The more male partners a bisexual has during
his life time, the more female partners he is also likely to have. Male
bisexuality starts at an early age, therefore the men are more advanced
in sexual acts than average heterosexual men. This experience may help
at all stages and levels of relationships - seduction, stimulation,
social interaction and even deception. The last way in which
homosexuality can aid heterosexual success is via infidelity with in a
heterosexual relationship. The risks involved in being unfaithful
within a heterosexual relationship for a homosexual relationship are
far less than if a man in unfaithful to another woman i.e. he does not
have to maintain his lovers child and he is less likely to leave you
for another man. There are costs to homosexual behaviour e.g. AIDS and
genetic- the more bisexuals the more the homosexual genes get passed on
and the purer these become resulting in pure homosexuality and no
children and violence by homophobics. The advantage of bisexuals lies
in its exponents potentially having a higher rate of reproduction than
the average for the society in which they live. In small societies
where there is much less risk to bisexuals they thrive!
S31: Male and female bisexuals are very similar. There are fewer female
bisexuals than men 2-3% rather than the male 6%. To find a females
bisexual ancestor we have to go back to 1850 rather than 1875 for
males. Females begin there lesbian activities later than men. Women do
not have as many partners than men. Their similarities are that most
women who show homosexual behaviour are bisexual 80%. Female bisexuals
reproduces as successfully as heterosexuals. Women still produce
earlier than heterosexuals and are at greater risk from disease. The
reason why bisexuals do not continue reproducing later in life is that
they have caught some STD which prevents them from reproducing. The
fact that female bisexuality is less common than males suggests to an
evolutionary biologist either that women have less to gain from
bisexuality than men. Bisexual women learn earlier and better how to
exploit relationships and to promote and influence sperm warfare. They
have more control over their climaxes, thus stronger cervical filters
and greater ability for it to be bypassed. Homosexual behaviour in
women shows a process of practising with women for success at getting
the most out of a long term relationship with individual men. Whereas
men are practising for success with many women. If there is a group of
women together and they are not ovulating they will tend to synchronise
their periods, yet if the women are ovulating they tend to
desynchronise. Trying to hide there fertile phase from their partner.
S32: Sperm warfare is at its optimum in the reproductive tract of a
prostitute. Prostitutes reproduce successfully. 4% of societies do not
have prostitutes. It is hard to define prostitutes, but they do seem to
receive gifts or money or both? Man can also be prostitutes but they
are more willing to have sex with a woman without any reward. One
advantage to prostitution is that her clients are usually well off
e.g. judges, therefore if she can manipulate sperm warfare his genes
would mix with hers and her offspring could be intelligent! We only
have to go back to the 1820 to fine a prostitute among our ancestors.
Yet prostitution has many risks- STD, being injured and killed and by
far the biggest problem is drug related. Not only in prostitution a
reproductive strategy for women it is also a reproductive strategy for
the men who visit. Prostitutes share many similarities with bisexuals,
it is only an advantage strategy as long as it stays uncommon. If we
can consider prostitutes as a genetic predisposition then they should
have the same likelihood as other woman at successfully reproducing. If
it is not genetic then any woman could become a prostitute and have a
higher level of reproductive success.
S33: ^Prevention of socially unpredictable behaviour, be it rape or
warfare, demands a proper understanding of the circumstances that
trigger such behaviour^. The only reliable pathway to understand the
situation is via objective analysis, even if some conclusion are
unpleasant. As testament to the reproductive nature of their behaviour,
rapists usually pick victims at the height of their fertility peak.
These men are clearly using rape as a reproductive strategy. On such
occasions where the victim is injured or killed the nature of the
attack is entirely different. Rape usually involves spermwarfare. Rape
is only rare in 20% of countries, and in some major industrial cities
half the women experience an attempted rape and one quarter are
actually raped. Only 1 in approximately 10 rapes are reported. So
widespread is rape that in the passed five generations we could
probably find one ancestor. Rape can be an extra option for males who
are in all other aspects reproductively normal. From recent studies it
would seem that rapists have an above average reproductive success.
Rape is a risky business, not only with sexually transmitted diseases
but also it will trigger strong and often violent retribution. Rape is
a dangerous reproductive strategy. A woman is more likely to conceive
from rape than routine sex, the trauma of rape actually stimulates
ovulation, it also involves the collection of more sperm because of the
high numbers of sperm injected into her- like infidelity. It is
therefore a successful reproductive strategy for women.
S34: Gang rape has a benefit in that it forces the woman to be
inseminated. Collectively they can brush away any defences she may
have. The costs is that all their sperm engage in warfare. Why is rape
not more popular? Because they are a genetic minority. There are few
situations in which rape outweighs the potential costs. As far as rape
is concerned everybody is at risk, this is because of the success of
women unconsciously confusing men. Unable to decipher female fertility,
the male body has responded by inseminating whoever and whenever it
can.
S35: Men differ in the ways in which they pursue reproductive success:
bisexuality, sperm warfare and avoiding sperm warfare. Which strategy a
male is programmed with depends on the size of his testes. Differences
in testes size is genetic. Small testes are a handicap for sperm
warfare, yet are less likely to get damaged. Men with larger testes
produce more sperm and are more likely to be unfaithful. They both do
equally well in their reproductive success. Men with average size
testes employ a mix of strategies. Testis size not only varies within a
population but also between a population.
S 36: Compared with men women are more varied in their sexual
characteristics. Some women never climax, others have multiple climaxes
and when they climax varies. Women also vary in there sensitivity of
their clitoris. This means that it is another way in which we confuse
men. A woman gains in three ways from being as different as she can:
first she sets challenging tests of experience and competence. Secondly
she has more control over each sexual encounter. Thirdly after
selecting a man as a partner she can educate him in her needs. There
are four categories of women: those who can achieve all types of
climax, those who are programmed to avoid one kind of climax, those who
climax every time they have penetrative sex and finally those who never
have climaxes. All these categories should all reproduce equally well.
CH11 S37: This was a reminder that in the right situation with the
right person, the best way to achieve the greatest reproductive success
can be monogamy. These have been around for 3 million years. Infidelity
may not be the best strategy. Without the phenomenon of sperm warfare,
human sexuality would be far less colourful. Without sperm warfare
during human evolution, men would have tiny genitals and produce few
sperm.
Woman would not have climaxes, there would be no thrusting during
intercourse, no sex dreams or fantasies, no masturbation and we should
feel like sex only a dozen times in our lifetimes. The whole of human
culture would be different. Sperm warfare has social developments in
the emergence of child support agencies. Scientific development-
genetic fingerprinting, has provided a relatively conclusive method of
testing whether the child belongs to the lover or the partner. Men will
now find it difficult to have sex and run. Women will find it much more
difficult to trick men into thinking they are bringing up their own
child. Strategies which will become much less common- genetically,
being supported by a number of different men, women are not so
dependent on men anymore.
Such behaviour may lead to the breakdown of long-term relationships.
The reproductive life of both men and women will centre on a succession
of relationships, each lasting just long enough to produce one or two
children. Reproductive success may lean towards men with wealthy and
status. Subconscious urges will still feel a need to have
grandchildren, men will still want as many children carrying their
genes onto the next generation by as many women as possible.
Subconsciously nothing will stop women trying to get the best genes and
recruit the best support for her children that carry her genes. Social
change is one of the major new influences on reproduction i.e. china.
"Society will be a major force in the shaping of human sexuality over
the generations to come".
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