There is a common belief out there that men are naturally selected to have many sexual partners at a time especially at their most productive age. There is also a denial for most women, old and young that this is not a case of nature's conviction, but individual flaws on the part of men. Women assert that this is a trick employed by male dominated society to justify this unacceptable behavior.
Well, if classical thinking is centered on the notion that a human male is genetically programmed to spread his genes as wide as possible as the result they are less selective and less willing to commit to one partner, then this be discredited with a recent scientific findings in human genetic study.
In this new finding, scientists have found out that the human gene can change much faster from a generation to a generation, actually much faster than thought before by the scientific community.
What does this means in the social and sexual battle between men and women?
It means genes change rapidly to accommodate the rapid change in environment and other factors and in this regard all those "polygamous'" genes we, men inherited from our fathers for thousands of years, might well be on the decline.
The Evidence
Modern dads even in Africa where polygamy was a norm just a few decades ago are now more concerned with the welfare of their gene carrying babies, and not how to spread those genes to many females. I have seen more dads in children clinics than before, have seen more dads dedicate their time to their kids and really trying to enjoy the company of their family unlike the time I was growing up, where dads hang out with their buddies (and of course those other women).
Someone might point to an alarming single parenthood numbers among the young people, and broken marriages in our societies and this is because of the liberal nature of our societies now, where traditions dont hold that much power any more. All i can see now is that men are increasingly more tolerant of a commitment than ever before just to get their kids and their genes a better chance of survival in an increasingly competitive environment.
A zip might be unzipped here and there, but ladies rest assured that evolutionary biology is changing men for the better....
Mharakati,
Mharakati is a Political and social commentator/activist based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Well, if classical thinking is centered on the notion that a human male is genetically programmed to spread his genes as wide as possible as the result they are less selective and less willing to commit to one partner, then this be discredited with a recent scientific findings in human genetic study.
In this new finding, scientists have found out that the human gene can change much faster from a generation to a generation, actually much faster than thought before by the scientific community.
What does this means in the social and sexual battle between men and women?
It means genes change rapidly to accommodate the rapid change in environment and other factors and in this regard all those "polygamous'" genes we, men inherited from our fathers for thousands of years, might well be on the decline.
The Evidence
Modern dads even in Africa where polygamy was a norm just a few decades ago are now more concerned with the welfare of their gene carrying babies, and not how to spread those genes to many females. I have seen more dads in children clinics than before, have seen more dads dedicate their time to their kids and really trying to enjoy the company of their family unlike the time I was growing up, where dads hang out with their buddies (and of course those other women).
Someone might point to an alarming single parenthood numbers among the young people, and broken marriages in our societies and this is because of the liberal nature of our societies now, where traditions dont hold that much power any more. All i can see now is that men are increasingly more tolerant of a commitment than ever before just to get their kids and their genes a better chance of survival in an increasingly competitive environment.
A zip might be unzipped here and there, but ladies rest assured that evolutionary biology is changing men for the better....
Mharakati,
Mharakati is a Political and social commentator/activist based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
