06/26/2008
(via sarahchristine): One of the first academic studies to investigate positive and negative emotions felt after casual sex has revealed that evolution has not adapted women to having casual sex. Otherwise, they conclude, women would feel better about a one-night sexual partner, instead of feeling used and regretful.
An internet survey of 1,743 men and women who have had one-night stands found that 80 per cent of the men had positive feelings about it, feeling greater sexual satisfaction and contentment, plus a greater sense of well-being. Only 54 per cent of women felt the same way.
"From here (via gauntlet) (via sarahchristine)
ME: Academic studies about sexual behavior, including casual sex, have been going on for decades. Amazing that this “science editor” used the words “scientific fact” to then refer to an internet survey. For decades sex researchers and evolutionary psychologists thought that there was no evolutionary need for females to have multiple partners, but that changed after a series of studies showing an increase in casual sex during ovulation among females, leading to the theory of sperm competition. Remember the picture of millions of sperms swimming with the most fit one winning? This theory was then advanced by Dr. Gallup at the University at Albany, who very elegantly showed how the male reproductive organ is shaped precisely to combat sperm competition.
So back to casual sex. So evolutionarily, males benefit from having multiple partners at all times, and females benefit from having multiple partners during ovulation. So, If we set aside socialization, females should report equal satisfaction with casual sex as males if asked about sexual encounters during ovulation.
And this discussion is about sex… not about the additional evolutionary benefits for both males and females of stable partnerships.
