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Sex Time and Power
How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution
Leonard Shlain
Early biped hominids couldn't outrun or outfight predators, so needed large brain to outthink them. But problem getting large-brained infants birthed. Once an upright stance adopted, pelvis for first time had to serve as a basin to stop intestines falling out. No other mammal has this gravitational problem.
Concealed ovulation created a situation unique among 4000 species of mammal on the planet - Free Will. Every other species driven to copulate at time of ovulation - human females can decide not to mate. Bigger brain gave female the intelligence to realize that sex -> pregnancy -> high mortality risk.
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Hemorrhoids a uniquely human affliction - a direct result of walking upright. In every other mammal the anus and the heart are on roughly the same level, but in adult human, heart is about 2 feet above. So veins around rectum permanently engorged because blood backs up against column of blood pressing down from above.
Exacerbated by another uniquely human trait - every other animal basically craps where it likes. Humans learn early that they are expected to maintain tight control over sphincter. The muscle squeezes the veins around it, making them even more pressured.
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Why are men so violent? No other species engages in wars, duels, fights or gratuitous torture, or inward aggression such as self-flagellation and suicide.
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Every other species the male ignores a female not in heat - competes with her for food - until she becomes sexually receptive, in which he switches to full concentrated interest. But human male sex drive operates full blast all the time. Nor do other species routinely engage in such a wide variety of sexual behaviours and varieties. Same sex, juveniles, elderly, the dead, and other species.
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Female bleeds heavily during menstruation, and during childbirth, requiring iron (ie red meat) to rebuild. Argue that human male forced to evolve tactic of taking huge risks to get the red meat so woman would give him sex.
Similar argument for evolution of speech - because need to negotiate over sex. Because female aware that she was risking her life by having sex, needed surety of what she was getting in exchange. At the same time, men realizing that had to persuade a reluctant female.
So both human males and females needed speech to negotiate assurances. Males of every other mammal species signal intentions either by grabbing female's behind, or sniffing her genitals. Both these approaches are frowned upon in most human societies.
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