There doesn't seem to be a discussion of this in and of itself anywhere else on the forums, so I was curious about people's input on the issue, and especially on my reaction to it.
Evolutionary biologists and psychologists theorize that there's a good rationale behind both male and female infidelity. Male infidelity is simple enough: spread ones seed far and wide, hoping to ensure greater chances of perpetuating his genetic code. Female infidelity is much more interesting.
Basically, women prefer more "feminine" features (rounded faces, clean-shaven) for men during their luteal (post ovulatory) phase, and prefer more "masculine" features (stubble, square jaws, ect) during their ovulatory phase. On the broader scale, women want (a) a man to provide for them and their children, and (b) a man to provide the "best" genetic code. Since often those men are different people, it encourages the woman to want to be impregnated by the "best" man and get the "provider" to rear the child.
http://www.canadiancrc.com/Newspaper_Articles/Time_Magazine_infidelity_in_genes_15AUG94.aspx
A few other studies have come to similar conclusions about behavior:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1559901
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Near-Ovulation-Your-Cheatin-Heart-6713.aspx?RelNum=6713
When women cheat, it's with more attractive men usually around her ovulatory phase. Women are best served (from an evolutionary perspective) by creating situations of false paternity. American and English common law actually encourage this practice. Any child born in a marriage is assumed to be the child of that marriage; there's a plethora of cases of men forced to pay child support on children they later discover weren't theirs.
Speaking as a man, and as a likely "provider", I think that's pretty terrible. First, and foremost, I'd like to change the law, ensuring that if a child can be proven post-divorce to be the product of an affair, all child support is nullified, and must be paid back by the woman. Alternatively, on a more personal side, I plan to demand paternity tests if I ever get divorced, and intend to sue my ex-wife for back payment of expenses if the children aren't mine.
Am I evil for this?
Evolutionary biologists and psychologists theorize that there's a good rationale behind both male and female infidelity. Male infidelity is simple enough: spread ones seed far and wide, hoping to ensure greater chances of perpetuating his genetic code. Female infidelity is much more interesting.
Basically, women prefer more "feminine" features (rounded faces, clean-shaven) for men during their luteal (post ovulatory) phase, and prefer more "masculine" features (stubble, square jaws, ect) during their ovulatory phase. On the broader scale, women want (a) a man to provide for them and their children, and (b) a man to provide the "best" genetic code. Since often those men are different people, it encourages the woman to want to be impregnated by the "best" man and get the "provider" to rear the child.
http://www.canadiancrc.com/Newspaper_Articles/Time_Magazine_infidelity_in_genes_15AUG94.aspx
A few other studies have come to similar conclusions about behavior:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1559901
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Near-Ovulation-Your-Cheatin-Heart-6713.aspx?RelNum=6713
When women cheat, it's with more attractive men usually around her ovulatory phase. Women are best served (from an evolutionary perspective) by creating situations of false paternity. American and English common law actually encourage this practice. Any child born in a marriage is assumed to be the child of that marriage; there's a plethora of cases of men forced to pay child support on children they later discover weren't theirs.
Speaking as a man, and as a likely "provider", I think that's pretty terrible. First, and foremost, I'd like to change the law, ensuring that if a child can be proven post-divorce to be the product of an affair, all child support is nullified, and must be paid back by the woman. Alternatively, on a more personal side, I plan to demand paternity tests if I ever get divorced, and intend to sue my ex-wife for back payment of expenses if the children aren't mine.
Am I evil for this?
