A study by evolutionary psychologist William Lassek has concluded, perhaps not surprisingly, that the more muscular a man is, the more sexual partners he has. So why haven’t skinny, fat, or average men been wiped out of the gene pool? One reason, according to Lassek, is that men with bigger muscles have to eat more to sustain themselves and have weaker immune systems. Advantage, skinny! [%comments]
Why Skinny Stays in the Picture
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There’s a simple explanation for that: women settle.
“So why haven’t skinny, fat, or average men been wiped out of the gene pool?”
Not every gal is a She-Woman either… if muscle man doesn’t show any interest, skinny dude (who is just as virile) starts to look more and more attractive…
That so called ‘study’ was based on an assumption that life, and gene pools, follow the logic of contemporary consumer society. Women ‘choose’ partners. They choose what appeals to them the most. As if ‘partners’ were items in a department store display: ‘oh honey, give me some of THAT.’
Listen, as soon as you hear that a ‘study’ was conducted by an ‘evolutionary psychologist’ hold your nose and walk on by.
To Mark T. – who do you think wrote the David and Goliath story? A “small” man.
So – physically fit males have weaker immune systems? How does that work?
Hrm…reading the article (but not the actual study), it doesn’t appear that the researchers verified the subjects’ sexual histories. Perhaps the only conclusion is that beefier men find it more necessary to lie about the number of sexual partners they’ve had.
Holme:
What saved us (the non-muscular, not-rich guys) is Monogamy!!
In a polygamous society more women would marry the super-rich. A fraction of the rich man provides more for her offsprings (and better genes) than a whole loser. Monogamy ensures every man gets a shot at procreation.
Robert -
Its not that clear – the assumption is that the appearance of strength attracts women – fulfilling their “need” for security.
Advantage skinny? How so – we are in a time of plentiful – so a muscular man can have whatever he wants. He needs to eat more? Well he can do it today – in the past scarcity was a problem.
“So why haven’t skinny, fat, or average men been wiped out of the gene pool?
It seems a bit simplistic to assume that if someone is not physically perfect that they will not ever find a suitable mate. First of all, perfection is relative. Muscles, while generally attractive to females, might not bear as strong an attraction as proportion, or facial appeal, or humor, for instance. While increasing probability of mating with the most shallow of females (those who consider muscles as their only metric, HA!), there are 9 to 1 that prefer not to think of themselves as the lowest common denominator.
Even if muscle size were the only metric in attraction, in our age of food plenty, sanitization, and medical advancement, there would be a surplus of suitors and a scant few “perfect people”, leaving the rest of the skinny, fatty, and otherwise “undesirable” to get it on just for kicks, ergo the continuation of the skinnys.