Unlike men’s bodies, the bodies of women are the subjects of great debate and controversy. A woman’s body is viewed as something which not only belongs to a woman but also belongs to her family, her partner, her community and her culture. The social, cultural and biological ideologies surrounding women’s bodies greatly impact the way that women view themselves, their interactions with those around them, and they way they are viewed by their society. While these ideologies may affect women on a cultural and psychological level, they are often based on biological facts which result from human evolution. In this post, we will discuss the impact of women’s subtle ovulation and myths surrounding menstruation on the views about women in different cultures.
Concealed OvulationHumans are said to be the only mammals whose ovulation is understated and subtle. Baboons for instance, have reddened butts and this enables male baboons to know when exactly the female baboon is ovulating and therefore not waste valuable genetic resources. Humans however, are differentiated from all other mammals as women’s ovulation is very subtle and most miss it on a conscious level. However, there are multiple new studies in evolutionary psychology that explain that while we may not recognize ovulation consciously, we respond to the peak in our fertility through subtle changes in action.
For instance, when single men interact with a woman who is at the peak of her fertility in the menstrual cycle, they rate her as being more attractive than at other points of time in the cycle. Men in committed relationships however, rate women as being less attractive as they subconsciously understand the threat that these fertile women pose to their relationships. This seems to in itself make a case for fidelity as being favorable for natural selection. Scientists posit that fidelity is favorable for passing on genes and therefore it is more in the interest of the individual to preserve their relationship rather than jeopardize it by possibly cheating on their partner. In essence therefore, the committed men attempt to ward off their attraction to attractive fertile women by subconsciously rating them as not attractive in the hope that it doesn’t actually become a threat to their relationships.
There are also subtle changes in behaviour and physical appearance when a woman is at her fertile best. For instance, the pitch of a woman’s voice is higher and men find their body odor more attractive. Women in relationships with sexually less attractive begin to find other men more attractive when they are ovulating and they tend to dress more attractively and attend more parties and clubs.
The studies on ovulation support fidelity and good genes over evolutionary urges to spread one’s genes and this seems to bode well for human monogamy. While urges to cheat always exist, biologically we are tuned to understand that monogamy and superior mate selection are of more importance.
Evolution of Concealed Ovulation
As previously mentioned, human females, unlike other mammals, lack a sharp peak of interest in sexual activity at or close to ovulation(estrus). This basically means that human females do not become more or less sexually active during times when they are physically fertile, nor do they give off any sign to males or themselves that they are in such a state. Many scholars have questioned this lack of estrus in the human population and theories have been heavily debated.
There have been many theories presented as to why this phenomenon is apparent in humans, most relating to the male to male interactions within society. Some theories put forth that it is important for men to work together in community, rather than competing for the attention of females, and therefore the lack of estrus is due to the fact that without it, males are encouraged to bond. This idea of pair bonding among males puts forth that due to the extended receptivity of females with continued sexual relations with the same males, as both sexes do not know when ovulation will occur, stands to individualize sexual relations among humans.
Nancy Burley, however, argues in her article “The Evolution of Concealed Ovulation” that these arguments fail to compensate for “continuous receptivity, the concealment of ovulation from conspecifics, and the concealment of ovulation form females themselves.” What is most interesting within Burley’s argument is the idea of ovulation being hidden from females themselves Burley maintains that this concealment from females themselves is part of the process of natural selection, which obscured ovulation to counter human tendencies among females to avoid conception through abstinence from intercourse near ovulation. This theory then goes on to explain that human females are hesitant to have children due to the hard burden, economically, physically, and socially, that they would have to bear and therefore might be prone to avoid sexual encounters during ovulation. This, in order to be prevented then, would be combated by natural selection by a lack of estrus. While this theory is certainly fascinating, it has been disputed by many scholars who find the reasoning unjust. It certainly would go against many existing points in evolutionary theory which suggest females have fewer sexual encounters with males to ensure reproduction and stability thereafter, while males have more sexual encounters in order to spread their seed.
Menstrual Taboos
Menstruation in women the world over has come with many different forms of what the article, “A Woman’s Curse?” by Meredith F. Small calls “menstrual taboos”. Often these taboos take the form of forcing women to separate themselves from the rest of the society, or to wear certain symbols that show they are menstruating. The article says that in some cultures, menstruating women are forbidden, “to touch certain items used by men, such as hunting gear or weapons…” (1). These taboos have often thought to have been brought about by culture and society. Some anthropologists, the article says, have even argued that these taboos “serve to prevent menstrual odor from interfering with hunting…” (1). However, this article argues that maybe menstrual taboos are a form of evolutionary advantage.
The website called “A Darwin Study Group” has a section titled, “Seminar Two: Evolution of Sexuality, Menstrual Taboos”. This article discusses similar points as described above but it mentions the fact that these evolutionary advantages to the taboos may be found in the fact that identifying women’s menstrual taboos (however a given society decides to do so) is beneficial for the society as a whole because it allows the males in the society to identify which women are healthy and fertile. For example, a woman being separated from her society to live in a hut outside their grounds gives males the opportunity to document how regular/irregular this women’s menstrual cycle is. This gives males the chance to choose an appropriate mate, one who is healthy sexually and can reproduce. Knowing this, gives males and females both an evolutionary advantage, allowing healthy individuals to find each other faster and mate, reproducing more.
While this website also argues that part of the way that these taboos are formed has to do with culture, the fact that societies all over the world are interested in creating some form of taboo is evolutionarily biological. “There are clearly variations on this theme across human cultures. Human behavior is flexible, shaped by culture and upbringing as well as by genes.” So while in one culture the taboo may be to banish the menstruating woman to the outskirts of their societal grounds in another it could be celebrating the menstrual cycle of women. But the fact still remains, that cultures all over the world have certain menstrual taboos and the necessity for them is evolutionarily successful.
Conclusion:
"If natural selection is the cake that makes biology understandable, sexual selection is the icing."
-Dr. Dimijian
“Since 1989, Greg Dimijian has taught a three-part seminar in behavioral ecology to the fourth-year psychiatry residents at the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, where he is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry.” He noted that Darwin believed that sexual selection is fundamentally different from natural selection. “He [Darwin] viewed it as a separate and powerful explanatory principle in biology”(Dimijian). One example of this disconnect is apparent in peacocks in which the male is in a lose-lose situation. The female peacock is attracted to the male while longer, brighter, more colorful feathers, thus inducing sexual selection: however, these long, bright and colorful male birds are not only appetizing to females, they also become the prime target of predators. These opposing ideas have been stumping scholars since Darwin.
Studies have shown that modern culture has caused woman’s menstruation cycles to be significantly different from that of a “natural fertility”(Small 1) culture free from birth control and norms for small families. The modern woman has significantly more menstruation cycles than the “natural fertility” woman: 400:110. The difference between the two numbers of 290 days is the time that is spent pregnant or lactating. This increased number of periods lowers a woman’s biological resources and has a “hundredfold” increased risk of getting breast cancer. (Small 4)
These conflicting of ideals for women of, being attracted to a male who has greater chance of being eaten or living in an industrialized society with options and getting breast cancer, are making it harder for science to provide answers for our hunger for knowledge about human sexuality.
The website called “A Darwin Study Group” has a section titled, “Seminar Two: Evolution of Sexuality, Menstrual Taboos”. This article discusses similar points as described above but it mentions the fact that these evolutionary advantages to the taboos may be found in the fact that identifying women’s menstrual taboos (however a given society decides to do so) is beneficial for the society as a whole because it allows the males in the society to identify which women are healthy and fertile. For example, a woman being separated from her society to live in a hut outside their grounds gives males the opportunity to document how regular/irregular this women’s menstrual cycle is. This gives males the chance to choose an appropriate mate, one who is healthy sexually and can reproduce. Knowing this, gives males and females both an evolutionary advantage, allowing healthy individuals to find each other faster and mate, reproducing more.
While this website also argues that part of the way that these taboos are formed has to do with culture, the fact that societies all over the world are interested in creating some form of taboo is evolutionarily biological. “There are clearly variations on this theme across human cultures. Human behavior is flexible, shaped by culture and upbringing as well as by genes.” So while in one culture the taboo may be to banish the menstruating woman to the outskirts of their societal grounds in another it could be celebrating the menstrual cycle of women. But the fact still remains, that cultures all over the world have certain menstrual taboos and the necessity for them is evolutionarily successful.
Conclusion:
"If natural selection is the cake that makes biology understandable, sexual selection is the icing."
-Dr. Dimijian
Studies have shown that modern culture has caused woman’s menstruation cycles to be significantly different from that of a “natural fertility”(Small 1) culture free from birth control and norms for small families. The modern woman has significantly more menstruation cycles than the “natural fertility” woman: 400:110. The difference between the two numbers of 290 days is the time that is spent pregnant or lactating. This increased number of periods lowers a woman’s biological resources and has a “hundredfold” increased risk of getting breast cancer. (Small 4)
These conflicting of ideals for women of, being attracted to a male who has greater chance of being eaten or living in an industrialized society with options and getting breast cancer, are making it harder for science to provide answers for our hunger for knowledge about human sexuality.
Sources:
Burley, Nancy. "The Evolution of Concealed Ovulation." The American Naturalist 114.6 (1979): 835. Print.
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