Hijacking a Ride?

A new study a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070809.LMACHO09/TPStory/?query=jaw”seeks to shed some light on why women pick men/a who breed but don’t stick around (Hat Tip: a href=”http://www.julescrittenden.com/2007/08/10/wheres-the-beef/”Jules Crittenden/a):br /br /blockquoteYet, how to explain women choosing those unsuitable, macho, alpha types? Many do.br /br /Ovulating women have an increase in masculine preference, Dr. Boothroyd says, as do women who are already in a committed long-term relationship, “the idea being that they’re already in a relationship, so they’re not looking for a long-term partner.”br /br /Women with high self-esteem also choose more masculine partners, which may be because “they’ve got more in the bank to negotiate.”br /br /But they’re not choosing them for their immunocompetence, Dr. Boothroyd says. Instead, they’re attracted for reasons more directly related to the man’s alpha-male status. Their genes might not technically be better, but since they belong to a socially dominant male, women perceive the men as having other desirable attributes.br /br /So the next step is to take a harder look at what those genetic benefits might be. The “sexy-son” hypothesis, which dates back to the 1920s, is one possibility, Dr. Boothroyd says.br /br /The premise: If a male is reproductively successful, it’s advantageous to mate with him because he should produce sons who are also reproductively successful. “Sexy sons actually give their mothers more grandchildren,” she says. These women are making a trade-off so their genes “can hijack a ride along with his and spread through the population.”br //blockquotebr /I guess that explains why a href=”http://www.pjmedia.com/2007/07/ask_dr_helen_doing_unto_others.php”serial sperm donors are so successful/a with women.