FREE ESSAY ON HUMAN SEXUALITY

HUMAN SEXUALITY

Study of Human Sexual Behavior 
Human sexual behavior is just one of the many things anthropologist study when it comes
to humans. Humans are highly complex and social beings. We often wonder why we do the
things we do. Why do some people cheat, while others stay monogamous? Behavior is not an
easy thing to study because it is subject to change and is continuously changing. There
is no clear-cut reason for human behaviors, unlike mammals, humans can reject or override
genetics. We are not under the control of our hormones or genes. We can resist our
biology and it is for this reason that human behavior is so puzzling and complicated.
Anthropologists solve this problem by looking at our closest living ancestors, the
non-human primates. By observing and theorizing their behavior anthropologist believe it
will give them some insight into human behavior. 
One of the reasons anthropologist study non-human primates is to clue us in on our early
ancestors to which we can better understand human behavior today as it pertains to sex.
If we take a close look at some non-human primate sexuality we see that they almost
always have stragedies when it comes to picking a mate. The males normally seek out
females in heat, to ensure their offspring for the next generation. To win the acceptance
of the female the male will court her, by grooming her and being attentive and if she has
a child, demonstrate his ability to be a good father. The male primate's main objective
is to impregnate a female, and as many females as he can. Once he accomplishes his
mission, he will again try to impress another female; this is the male's strategy for
reproduction. 
The dominant male almost always impregnates the most females, because he is the superior
of the group and this will ensure strong healthy offspring for the next generation;
although the females may not always receive the dominant male due to his familiarity to
her. The females also have a reproductive strategy and that consists of being very choosy
with who they allow to impregnate them. Since females only have 400 eggs their entire
lifetime, it is to their best interest to be particular. When new males join their group
females will be more drawn to the new comer due to her curiosity and excitement for
something new and her boredom with the dominant male. She will pursue him and eventually
he will court her, which will ensure the mix in the gene pool.
These sex strategy behaviors explain why humans today often stray from their partners
because from an evolutionary stand point females are in constant search for that quality
male and males are on a mission to ensure their genes in the next generation. And another
reason may simply be of boredom as demonstrated by female Muriquis monkeys who seek out
new males. The courting ritual is a big part of human sexual behavior. Human males, just
as the non-human primates spend a lot of their strategy time building a trusting
relationship so the female will give in to them. And the female will take advantage of
the courting and the attention and those with children have temporarily found a male
figure to guard and protect her child. 
These sex strategies are important part of non human and human behavior, but are they so
cut and dry as females do just this and males do just that? For example, most female
non-human primate have a tendency to choose quality over quantity, however this is not
always the case. Apparently not, as Anthropologist Meredith Small found out. She did a
study of female Barbary macaques, and found out that females are very fickle, sometimes
they choose mates who are familiar or high ranking or sometimes they go for new comers or
sometimes they go for all of the above. There does not seem to be any reasoning behind
their choice. This however comes to no surprise to Barbara Smuts who concludes that
non-human primates are just as complex and subtle on a social level as we are. Non-human
primates from this example can be as complicated and confusing in their actions as humans
are. Although, one could also conclude that only female macaques are as fickle as humans
can be and this is one of the problems anthropologist encounter. It is difficult to
categorize or theorize strategies and behaviors of all non-human primates in a single
form. It is for this reason that anthropologist must study all groups of non-human
primates for their diversity in social behavior. 
First and foremost sex, is a behavior to produce offspring. It is a necessary to mix up
the gene pool to create stronger more viable generations. Although this is the case,
recreational sex is not unheard of in primates; as Meredith Small points out in article
6. The Bonobo chimps separate sex from reproduction and seem to thoroughly enjoy their
recreational pass time. Their sexual activities are very open and have many ways and
positions to enjoy sex, very much like humans. "They seem more like humans then chimps"
says Small, using the example of face to face copulation which is very uncommon in
non-human primates. Just as humans enjoy sex and receive great pleasure, so do the Bonobo
chimps. These displays of sexual behavior are prime clues to the origins of human sexual
behavior, which is one of the rewards for anthropological studies.
Studies and research of primates have revealed that many of the human sexual behaviors
can be traced to non-human primates. Anthropologist do encounter occasional hurdles due
to these primate's "sometimes" -complex behavior. "Sometimes it is just hard to know what
they are up to", confesses Ann Gibbons in article 7. Despite this, observing non-human
primate behavior gives us clues as to why we do what we do and where the behaviors came
from and what purpose these behaviors served for our ancestors. Because primates are so
closely related to humans it is important to study their social behaviors and their
evolution through time. It may lead to answers and to further questions as well.
Bibliography
Works Cited
I. Almquist, A; Simic, A; Omidian, P, Human Sexuality, 1995
1. Gibbons, Ann; Article 7 "Barbary Macaques Challenge Theory of Female Choice"
2. Small, Meredith; Article 6 "What's Love got to do with it? Sex Among Our Closest
Relatives Is a Rather Open Affair"