When Males "Advertise"

Looking for a new photo to caption this morning, I ran across an interesting article that may help explain the "Where are all the women ...?" heuristicizing some men do: Here are some excerpts:

...When male animals strut their stuff — the rainbow plumes of peacocks, the mighty tusks of an elephant — they might be flaunting their potential for fatherhood, researchers in Spain say.

Biologists working for Spanish government's top scientific research body say they have found evidence of this phenomenon in deer that might apply to other species. Features long considered to be only for show or self-defense might indicate the quality of an animal's genes.

In the case of deer, for instance, it was believed antlers were simply a weapon for head-knocking battles with rivals, often over a female, and the winner got the doe.

But the Spanish team found a direct link between the length and complexity of a buck's horns and the quality of its sperm.

and

He cited peacocks as candidates for further study: "That fabulous tail that people thought might just be to attract a female. She might be making her choice not on simply how dazzling it is but because it might reflect the quality of the male's sperm."

So, ladies. That's what really going on. Drum wants you to have his babies.

Comments

[Eli]

now that ttlb ecosystem deal makes sense to me.

[DavidByron]

So you are saying that the reason there are fewer major women bloggers is that women lack the competative sex drive of men?

[Chris Clarke]

I've long thought that blogging from the boyherd was a slightly cleaner form of bukkake: this certainly seems to back that up.

(Uh-oh. I hope Rox doesn't ban me from comments for saying "bukkake.")

[bitchphd]

You know, I'm talking to a friend this morning who is saying that, as a professional moderate, Drum needs a Sistah Souljah moment, and we're it.

[Lauren]

And condescending behavior is related to baby-making, how?

David, I'll take you to task on that one. Not literally, but you know.

[doghouse riley]

Well, I'm not sure how much cross-species studies really matter, except they do lead to a really nice gag there. It's actually the relatively large testicle size/body weight ratio in the human male, like our brother chimps, meaning we're both sexually promiscuous species. The harem apes, gorillas, orangs, have what your doctor would term very tiny things down there. It winds up being yet another argument against making sweeping claims based on some perceived "gender differences', since we didn't evolve socially with much in the way of gender specific roles beyond reproduction and nursing. Compare that with monkeys, which have some truly elaborate estrus displays.

Say rather then that Kevin is, uh, displaying his prowess (which seems to have actually driven the women away from him, perhaps because they'd be the first to spot a bluff). It brings to mind something I've been kicking around for the last two decades watching certain political factions become increasingly insane: post-Freud there's a hell of a lot less pressure on people to hide evidence of their sexual maladaption, or even recognize it. Some even seem to take pride in displaying it, as if words on a page were, well, testicles.

[Lauren]

I think I've figured it out. See the trackback.

[Thomas Ware]

Come on gals, nobody reads Drum anymore. Corporate shill.

I've been reading since, oh, seven o'clock (Oregon) this morning and it's a pretty darned safe bet I've visited more "girl" blogs than guy. And no doubt as many news articles penned by women as men. I really do think this is much ado about nothing - but considering Drum started it...

Coolness: all the brouhahaha (whatever) 'ore the past couple of weeks has led to the discovery of, yes you guessed it, more "girl" blogs. Favorite so far Pagan Prattle, via Ms. Carol.

[Blue Mako]

"It's actually the relatively large testicle size/body weight ratio in the human male, like our brother chimps, meaning we're both sexually promiscuous species."
Actually, I believe ours are smaller than chimps', actually...

[Blue Mako]

And I don't believe orangutans are harem-keepers, either. To the best of my knowledge, they're usually solitary...

[Kevin Hayden]

I don't know nuts about sperm quality but I've long suspected that the size of a guy's blogroll is directly comparative to the size of the schwing! he can muster.

[Phoenician in a time of Romans]

(Uh-oh. I hope Rox doesn't ban me from comments for saying "bukkake.")

"Bukkake" has had it's day. The new in-perversion is "decanting".

[Phoenician in a time of Romans]

Rogue apostrophe attack! I blame Monday morning!

[Billmon]

Lucy: Aaaaah! Blogger sperm.

[Linnaeus]

I think the term for display is "lekking", or something like that. I once read a rather interesting psych paper in which the researchers studied lekking in human males. One of the characteristics of human lekking was conspicuous display of technology and associated mastery of it.

[WookieMonster]

Um...not to be sarcastic or anything, but isn't that Darwinism?

Yet more proof that Darwinism is slightly more than just a theory. *(Yes, I do know that it IS a theory, but it's an incredibly well backed one.)