There were a lot of nods at the table this time.
“Men, on the other hand, have a different view of what status is. The woman’s intelligence, personality, and wealth are examined, but appearance is weighted so heavily, the other factors are not nearly as important,” said Greg.
“Anyone disagree?” he asked.
No one wanted to.
“Having defined the gender differentials vis-à-vis hypogamy and hypergamy, the million dollar question my colleagues and I research is: why did these different natures evolve? Does anyone want to lay down a hypothesis?”
Greg looked around the table. No one had the courage to offer an opinion.
“Here is what the dominant viewpoint in our field of study think: childbearing and child rearing is difficult and expensive. Females need support in terms of resources, partnership, and protection.
The practice of human pair bonding between the males and females was the result. When males pair bond, they give their mates resources, partnership, and protection. These are necessary for the raising of children and provide the most stable environment for it. What women are attracted to, are heuristical indicators of a male’s ability to provide those things. Status is a composite score of those heuristics. Any objections to that?” Greg asked the group.
Again, no one gave an opinion.
“What do females give men?” Greg asked.
Everyone clearly had an opinion, but no one was willing to offer it.
“Pussy?” asked Radu.
The women all around the table frowned. The death stare Kailey leveled at Radu made everyone at the table distinctly uncomfortable.
Greg decided to be conciliatory, “Radu isn’t wrong in a general sense. Sex is a concrete manifestation of an abstract policy goal for men. The abstract policy goal for men is obtaining a genetic legacy. What men get through pair bonding with women is children. A man needs a woman to give him children.”
This was well received as it gave women power not previously afforded. Everyone tittered and joked about how it was very obvious, but no one saw it. There were laughs and it eased the tension quite a bit.
Greg summarized, “So when males and females pair bond, it represents a compromise between the two sexes to get what they want. Females get support raising the child– that is protection, resources, and collaboration. Males get exclusive access to a woman for the purposes of reproduction. That’s how he can maximize the possibility for having a genetic legacy.
“It is extremely important to note that pair bonding in Homo sapiens is non-obligate. Some species are so hardwired to pair bonding that they cannot become aroused except with a bonded partner. Humans do not need a pair bond at all. That’s why courtship and pair bonding rituals between human mates is so complicated. Historically, it is so complicated that most cultures took pair bonding completely out of the hands of the couple altogether. This modern notion that we have a right to choose your own partner and that we should choose that partner on the basis of love is a very recent development. Objectively, it hasn’t been a very successful experiment.”