Anissa StewartINQ 110-RSummary 6-109/10/2012Sociobiology and Evolutionary PsychologyNew School of human behavior- Sociobiology- Evolutionary Psychologyo Explains most gender differences as strategies of sexual reproduction - Sociobiology/Evolutionary Psychologisto Predict that the sexes will differ in precisely those domains in which women and men have faced different sorts of adaptive problems.o Domains such as reproduction which is the only biological function that is gender or biologically specifico Humans have an innate genetically triggered impulse to pass on their genetic material through successful reproduction Called reproductive fitness- Species level o K Strategies Female mammals have very few eggs Offspring take a longer time to grow and when they are born are helpless infants This limitation shapes a woman’s sexual and emotional approach to men and mating in general Women search for a mate that will stay around to help provide for her and the child Women have developed skills to create male loyalty and commitmento R Strategies  Species that obtain immortality by mass producing sperm and eggs such as fish Parents need not stay together to raise the child- Sexual Desireo Older men choose younger women Youth is sexiero Younger women look for older men (hypergamy) Older men have a higher standing within society o Men have an easier time with sex than women due to the nonexistent restraints on theirpartners or their sex driveso Women make an investment with each sexual acto A feminist approach would be that a woman wants the best genes for her offspring. So a woman will get a divorce to allow herself to find the next best partner that has even better genes than the last- Social Origins of Desireo People who grow up in different circumstances have different sexualitieso Example: Swedish adults have no problem with premarital sex. Biology is no different in Sweden than Ireland, but society’s rules are different. Because there is no disdain for premarital sex it has become commonplace.Anissa StewartINQ 110-RSummary 6-109/10/2012 Ireland is run by Catholic influence. This means that premarital sex is unholy andan offense to God. It is socially immoral.o Dichotomy Male VS Female Men wore pants, were the hunters and workers Women wore skirts and stayed home to cook clean and raise the children- Social Construction of Sexualityo Tahiti women are open about their sexuality. They drew the sailors in who were used to European women and their social customs regarding sex.o English women were programmed by the Victorian concept of societies view on sexuality. Women were scared of sex. They were virgins until marriage and did not experiment with sex.o Family and social background play a role in the construction of sexuality Birth order & Social backgroundo Sociologist look at the whole and then the individual  Macro-level- Some women wear skirts while all men do not- Why is that? Micro-level- A man opens and holds the door for a women- This symbolic interactionism has what kind of meaning? Biological impulses are subservient to the influence of social systems Example of societies influence on gender based control- In ancient China high class women bound their feet to the point where their last 2 toes would shrivel and die. This was ingrained in the Chinesethat bound feet were erotic and told a man that this woman was acceptable to marry. It became so popular that peasant women began to bind their feet. If a woman’s feet were not bound then it was seen as disgusting.Quotes“Sexual history is useful for predicting sexual future, but it does not provide a complete explanation.” P138“Sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists say that men inseminate, women incubate.” P134“Sexual desire –in fact, all sexuality-is influenced by the cultural, personal, and situational.” P142ReflectionThis article was fascinating. Not only was the information new, but it was relevant to my daily life. The article focused on sexuality in terms of the difference between pre-existing sexes. It showed the social norm compared to what that ‘norm’ is considered today. People today strive to be non-conformists. An example of this would be cohabitation within the US. In the early 1900’s cohabitationAnissa StewartINQ 110-RSummary 6-109/10/2012was looked down upon. Society saw it as a selfish act by young people. Now that premarital sex is lookedupon as admissible, cohabitation rates have risen. It was interesting to see a feminist view on divorce that related to these new schools of human behavior. It is mind boggling got believe that Divorce occurs within the third or fourth year of marriage. I feel that this could be avoided if the couple would practice cohabitation before marriage. You may love someone, but you may not love them after you’ve lived with them. The feministic way seems to base divorce solely on reproduction. It is absurd to believe that a woman would leave her husband to find another man to help her produce offspring with better genes than the last man she was with. If this weretrue than marriage would slowly become obsolete. It is very interesting to see that Sociobiologists believe that human behavior is driven by the instinct reproduce. A flaw to this would be that this cannot be proved with empirical data. The example of hypergamy was very affective. It explained the need women have to find someone to provide not onlyeconomically, but genetically as well. Society plays a key role in identifying your sexuality. Your parents also give you limitations on what is ok and what is not. That’s when the term ‘normal’ comes into play. This term does not have the finality as it would if this article was written in the Victorian era. Now the origins of sexual desire completely surprised me. I would have never thought that clothing was so socially fused with underlying meaning. The high heel example was very eye opening. It showed that the high heel had no physical or biological importance, but society labeled it as feminine and sexy. Even men who cross-dress use high heels to solidify their transformation into a woman.Binding feet within China portrayed an extreme version of the ‘high heeled syndrome’ within theUS. The fact that society held such a strong hold on the Chinese’s sexuality is formidable. Such an intenseway of life is baffling. Although the article did state, that men