Nameless Son
06-07-2012, 08:21 AM
No one replied to me and it was a little off topic anyway so I'm making my own d*** thread!
If you wonder why so many recessive traits seem to be in high demand (especially on females), there is probably a biological explanation for this. It seems to be most obvious, using law of natural selection:
It is male interest to care for inseminated woman, fetus, and baby ONLY when he knows it's his (or is caring his genes from a relative of his). He can only do this when it's born - remember, they didn't have x-rays/baby-scanners for most of human evo history. The more different the baby looks, the less he will like it and/or "think" that it's his baby.
Woman's interest is biologically more complicated, as she must "weigh" (remember, the agency implied is only a metaphor...) the full/actual of her male benefactor(s)'(s) help in raising the child plus his genes vs. the genetic benefits of his genes alone. If genetic benefits are not perceived high enough, but actual benefit is, the woman has an interest in taking better genes instead (quick way to do this is to look at size) without losing old benefactor(s).
Since this kind of biology is metaphorical in the first place (something many have problems with), one might as well mention the "classic case": Striking woman hooks up with lesser man. She is the best he can get in a long shot, benefiting the woman with the reliability of his help in raising baby. But, she "sneaks off" in order to evade being inseminated with his most-often-to-fail (he got lucky, after all) genes and get some from a physically strong man, who at least has that going for him, and can be identified upon first glance.
NOW HERE'S WHERE RECESSIVE GENES LIKE BLOND HAIR COME IN
A trend in male-female mates to recessive genes splits off precisely at the point where the man gets actual genetic benefit for raising baby: The man in the pair can be more sure that his relatively darker male relatives did not inseminate his wife/mate who has equally recessive genes as he.
This should never be misunderstood as racist biology because it does not describe any process that can be fit into one human life-span. What is actually described is: a biological force pushing populations apart over many thousands of years. The abstract force is manifest in human lifespan, however.
If you wonder why so many recessive traits seem to be in high demand (especially on females), there is probably a biological explanation for this. It seems to be most obvious, using law of natural selection:
It is male interest to care for inseminated woman, fetus, and baby ONLY when he knows it's his (or is caring his genes from a relative of his). He can only do this when it's born - remember, they didn't have x-rays/baby-scanners for most of human evo history. The more different the baby looks, the less he will like it and/or "think" that it's his baby.
Woman's interest is biologically more complicated, as she must "weigh" (remember, the agency implied is only a metaphor...) the full/actual of her male benefactor(s)'(s) help in raising the child plus his genes vs. the genetic benefits of his genes alone. If genetic benefits are not perceived high enough, but actual benefit is, the woman has an interest in taking better genes instead (quick way to do this is to look at size) without losing old benefactor(s).
Since this kind of biology is metaphorical in the first place (something many have problems with), one might as well mention the "classic case": Striking woman hooks up with lesser man. She is the best he can get in a long shot, benefiting the woman with the reliability of his help in raising baby. But, she "sneaks off" in order to evade being inseminated with his most-often-to-fail (he got lucky, after all) genes and get some from a physically strong man, who at least has that going for him, and can be identified upon first glance.
NOW HERE'S WHERE RECESSIVE GENES LIKE BLOND HAIR COME IN
A trend in male-female mates to recessive genes splits off precisely at the point where the man gets actual genetic benefit for raising baby: The man in the pair can be more sure that his relatively darker male relatives did not inseminate his wife/mate who has equally recessive genes as he.
This should never be misunderstood as racist biology because it does not describe any process that can be fit into one human life-span. What is actually described is: a biological force pushing populations apart over many thousands of years. The abstract force is manifest in human lifespan, however.