What To Expect When You're Not Expecting

So we all know males like sex (and to be honest, now a days it's seen as sort of acceptable for women to admit that as well) but why is it that there are still so many men that die without having children? Though a majority of males who reach the age of puberty do have children, but do men's reputation and job search actually have and effect on the number of children they produce?

(Super cute)

It has been seen that across different societies, men have a greater "variance in reproductive success" than women do (Gray). However the pressure for males in sexual selection is much harder on males than it is on females, this in turn, obviously, leaves many males childless. In America, we look down upon anything that is seen different from normal and in this case what's different from normal are any subcultures in America that involve polygamy. Many people talk about the show Sister Wives but it's never in a positive light, usually just about how disgusting we may think it is. However in other societies, polygamy and serial monogamy are seen as socially acceptable. These two things help to bolster male reproductive success. There are even societies where the elite, or richer, males get high reproductive variance due to the fact that they either have multiple wives or many concubines, while other men in that same society can not afford such a thing and have few to none.

In some societies money may not always be a primary factor. Many men, especially in different regions of the world, can have a lower success rate at having offspring due to the fact that they might make it to puberty, but not much further. Another reason could be that they have not earned the "status and resources" needed to become a spouse and father (though yes that has to do with money of sorts) (Gray). It may not be just other societies where men are having less luck passing on their genes. I'm sure we've all seen it nowadays, men and women want to spend more time on themselves, getting  better careers, getting a better education, and of course that means that we spend more time in short-term relationships and less time thinking about starting a family (especially for women with their biological clock ticking away). Men and women have been seen to be starting families later in their lives. Not only that but due to new carcinogenic factors and just overall unfortunate circumstances, fertility has also decreased.  So moral of the story, kiddies, not all men have kids, but our population seems to be doing just fine.

Symmetry's For Squares

It's obvious that Hollywood, a billion dollar industry, is doing something right. Yet, what would a good plot be without someone beautiful to look at. Celebrities are so appealing to us because they are, let's face it, ascetically pleasing. Not only has it been proven that we base our judgement (trustworthiness and personality) of others based on the symmetry of their faces but we base how to find a mate on it as well. The body/facial symmetry of another (specifically the opposite sex) is directly correlated to their "physical fitness and condition" (Ragsdale).  Both men and women look for someone who will produce good offspring and facial symmetry comes in handy when looking for a mate. A person with better symmetry produces better offspring.

The Curse of Curves

Sir Mix-A-lot will probably forever be immortalized for his song Baby Got Back, but what sticks out in that song is the lyrics "36-24-36." Representing a woman's size in inches for her breasts, waist, and hips. After some calculations, someone figured out that American men combined, annually, spend about 3 billion dollars to stare at women that look like Sir Mix-A-Lot's description.  Men are attracted to women who have a "waist size that is 60 to 70 percent of their hip size" (Lassek). Psychologist Devendra Singh and cognitive neuroscientist Steven Platek found that when a man looks at a woman with a Playmate figure,  it ignites a internal pleasure system. The system which curvy women lit up in men, is the same system that is lit when using drugs such as cocaine or heroine. Men's preference for women who look like they belong in an issue of Playboy, has been "shaped by a millennia of evolutionary forces" (Lassek).  What in evolution makes years to shape men to want women with the curse of curves? The answer: an hourglass figure relates to not only a woman's success at being a mother but also, believe it or not, her intelligence.

Marilyn Monroe is famous for having the ideal body size and type. Small waist with curvy hips all on a 5 foot 5 1/2 inch frame. The average Playmate is 5 feet 6 inches tall and 115 pounds. The 24 inch waist held by not only Marilyn but also most Playmates, is only a small part on what gives a woman her curves. The ideal woman also has normal sized legs and hips which are also well graced with fat. That's right, I said it ladies, fat. For what ever reason it may be, men LOVE the fat found in these areas. As much as we may hate it, female humans carry the most amount of fat out of any animal. Carrying seven times the amount of any other animal, excluding ones hibernating bears or Arctic diving whales, though we may compare ourselves to them.  A reason for this could be that the fat stored in women's hips, butt, and legs are a constant. Weight fluctuates but these areas stay untouched during weight changes. 

The human brain, other than water, contains fat, mostly an omega-3 called DHA or docosahexaenoic acid (Lassek). Women, tend to store their DHA in their these loved areas, their hips and legs. A human infant's growing brain needs DHA, which help in the rapid communication of information. Most of the DHA, that a mother feed to her child in her breast milk, comes from the fat stored in her hips and legs, however her supply is not endless and with each child her supply decreases. With this logic comes that a mother gives the greatest amounts of DHA to her first born child, which is "why the first born sibling tends to be the smartest" (Lassek). 

The fact that a woman's DHA amount helps to produce smart children helps to connect a woman's figure to why men want it. Studies have shown that women with "curvier hourglass figures have more DHA stored in their body fat" (Lasske). Higher the DHA, the better the brain works and in turn the curvier the woman the smarter their child will be. Today, American mothers rank near the bottom in the DHA content of breast milk. Therefore, the only way a woman can increase her DHA in her fat stores would be to gain more weight. This can help to explain why American women weigh twenty pounds more now than they did in the 70's, and a whopping forty pounds more than the average Japanese women, who were also found to have four times the amount of DHA. 

Who Doesn't Love a Bad Boy?

Even though we know they are bad for us, what draws women in to bad boys? Every woman out there wants a man who they know will be there for them, to provide, comfort, care for future/current family. Yet, there are still bad boys out there because lets face it, they are irresistible. Gregory Louis Carter and his team at the University of Durham conducted a study to try and figure out why these bad boys are just so utterly appealing.

Research has shown that more men have what is considered the "Dark Triad" (Mehta). This Dark Triad are three personality traits; narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellism. Narcissism is a greater trait in men than it is in women and the hallmarks include dominance, a sense of entitlement, and a grandiose self view. It is also believed that narcisissm helps bad boys for short term dating because it involves in "a willingness and ability to compete with one's own sex, and to repel mates shortly after intercourse" (Mehta). Psychopathy is callousness, a lack of empathy, and antisocial, erratic behavior. Just like Ted Bundy, psychopaths exhibit superficial charm, deceit, and a "sexually-exploitative interpersonal stance" (Mehta). Lastly is Machiavellianism. These people are manipulative, coercive, and opportunistic, which are an advantage in short term mating. The men who exhibit machiavellian behavior also appear to be more promiscuous.

The team presented a 128 female undergraduate students with descriptions of two types of men, Dark Triads and controls. The only difference in the descriptions of the two were that the control group dropped the dark personality traits. The findings you ask? Well Carter and his team found that women found the Dark Triad personality traits more appealing than that of the control. So why is this? One theory could be that sexual selection could be at work here. The confidence, stubbornness and risk taking tendencies are all those that represent a quality mate for reproduction. These traits however relate to short term mating, not anything women actually want longterm.  Another reason could be sexual conflict at play. "Women may be responding to DT men's ability to 'sell themselves'; a useful tactic in a co-evolutionary 'arms race' in which men convince women to pursue the former's preferred sexual strategy" (Mehta). These men are effective charmers and manipulators which helps to further short-term mating.  Yet, it is important to emphasize that the women tested are also young women, college women, who are still interested in short-term relationships.