Sex is about disease

Edward Chancellor

THE RED QUEEN: SEX AND THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN NATURE by Matt Ridley Viking, L17.99, pp. 405

Mankind is a self-domesticated animal; a mammal; an ape; a social ape; an ape in which the male makes the initiative in courtship and females usually leave the soci- ety of their birth; an ape in which men are predators, women herbivorous foragers; an ape in which the males are relatively hierar- chical, females relatively egalitarian; an ape in which males contribute unusually large amounts of investment in the upbringing of their offspring by provisioning their mates and their children with food, protection and company; an ape in which females mated to low-ranking males often cuckold their males; an ape that has been subject to unusually Intense mutual sexual selection, so that many of the features of the female body (lips, breasts, waists) and the mind of both sexes (songs, competitive ambition, status seeking) are designed for use in competition for mates; an ape that has developed an extra-ordinary range of new instincts to learn by association, to communicate by speech and to pass on traditions. But still an ape.

Thus Matt Ridley concludes his argu- ment, and from the above quotation two things are immediately apparent. First, the clarity and rhetorical force that infuse the author's style, a style which is both relaxed and confident, light and witty. Secondly, that the book is an essay in sociobiology. This is a subject fraught with danger, for fear that it will reveal politically and moral- ly unpalatable truths. To write in this area requires confidence and courage, and Rid- ley has both in abundance.

His claim is that anthropologists and sociologists have committed a number of fundamental errors in their approach to the study of man. The anthropologists are

so obsessed with observing the differences between man in his different tribal habitats that they have entirely overlooked what the object of their studies has in common. The sociologists have posited the idea that man is a tabula rasa and that he is entirely the product of the environmental circum- stances of his upbringing. Ridley accepts neither of these premises and seeks to prove otherwise by reference to modern genetic studies and the animal kingdom in general. By adopting this approach he attacks what he refers to as 'parochial anthropocentrism' and the 'instinctive arrogance of the human sciences'. With great delight the author takes us on a tour of the sexual practices found in nature, stating that the principles he is trying to establish

are better illustrated by aphids, dandelions, slime moulds, fruit flies, peacocks and ele- phant seals than they are by one peculiar ape.

The thesis starts with the question of sex in general. As asexual reproduction is twice as fecund as sex, why is sex necessary? Rid- ley examines a number of alternative theo- ries. The Vicar of Bray theory suggests that sex is an aid to faster evolution and that through mutation animals and plants become adaptable and quick to change. An opposing idea, known (after Darwin) as The tangled bank', states that due to com- petition with other species, sexual organ- isms in saturated environments need to vary their product. However, Ridley, in

inimitable style, concludes:

A century hence biologists will look back and declare the Vicar of Bray fell down a tangled bank and was slain by the Red Queen.

Who is the eponymous Red Queen?

She derives from the chess piece in Through the Looking Glass, who perpetual- ly runs without getting very far because the landscape moves with her. As a concept, the Red Queen suggests that all progress is relative. Living organisms are in constant competition with an enemy, in the biologi- cal world the greatest enemies are super- adaptable parasites (viruses, etc.) which are seeking to force an entry into the host's cells. To do this they need to acquire a key. However, sexual reproduction, by mixing genes, is constantly changing the genetic lock. Ridley cites Bill Hamilton of Oxford University:

The essence of sex in our theory is that it stores genes that are currently bad but have promise for reuse.

In short, 'sex is about disease'.

After examining the desirability of sexual reproduction, Ridley looks at sexual attraction. Two theories are suggested which are not mutually incompatible. The Fisher theorists (named after Sir Ronald Fisher) suggest that peahens prefer beauti- ful males so their offspring will attract females. The Good Geners (who descend from Darwin's colleague, Alfred Russel Wallace) see beauty as a sign of good genetic qualities. Human beings are descended from apes and many of their inherent characteristics come from an envi- ronment of evolutionary adaptedness. Hence, it is natural for New York children to fear snakes more than motor cars because the snake represented a real danger during man's earlier evolution.

Both men and women exhibit sexual choosiness. The male is instinctively attracted to female beauty. This beauty, it is suggested, reveals the fecundity of the woman and is particularly related to her youth, which promises a longer breeding life. Women have developed fat around the breasts and the rump because big breasts improve the ability to succour a child and larger hips improve the ability to give birth.

Men are by their nature polygamous. Given the chance (i.e. status and power) they will have harems (from Montezuma with his four thousand concubines to the businessman with his mistress). Men are more promiscuous than women (Ridley explains homosexual promiscuity on the grounds that heterosexuals would be equal- ly so if women would only give them the chance). Why women are less promiscuous is explained by the fact that they invest a lot more in gestation and upbringing of their child and they are looking for a male who will assist them in this task. Perhaps the current debate between the Conserva- tives and single mothers should be seen in this context.

While a woman looks for security and status in a man, if she opts for security she may choose to breed in adulterous liaison with a genetically superior neighbour. Concealed ovulation assists the woman who wishes to reproduce in this fashion. Occasionally these ideas appear out- landishly cynical, and perhaps because of this Ridley ends on a softer note. He claims that the neotony gene, which is the cause of youthfulness, also increases intelligence by enlarging the size of the brain. Surveys show that humour, creativity and interest- ing personality are ranked above wealth and beauty as desirable characteristics in both sexes. Thus attraction and intelligence are wedded (whatever happened to the dumb bimbo?) and the head is seen as con- taining 'a neurological version of a pea- cock's tale — an ornament designed for sexual display'. This may sound rather weak as a conclusion and Ridley appears aware of this.

With The Red Queen the pleasure may be more in the travelling than the arrival. Ridley has written a bold and fascinating book. He freely admits that half the ideas in it may be wrong, but he is informative and stimulating throughout. His knowledge and breadth of reference is astonishing (from gibbons to Gibbon). His ability to explain complicated scientific theories is helped by his uncluttered, modest and witty style. He concludes by citing Hume, regret- ting how his Treatise on Human Nature fell `dead from the press'. It is inconceivable that the present work should suffer such a fate.