Sunday, 13 July
Good Morning
Jessicca…
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| Michelangelo Buonarroti |
Why is it
human males grow beards and other primates do not? You won’t find a gorilla or orangutan having
to trim its whiskers. It’s a peculiar characteristic limited to Homo
sapiens. Similarly, you won’t find any
primate other than us where the female is in need of a bra. Human breasts often develop to a size having
nothing to do with nursing. It is an
adornment provoking the male into the role of procreation.
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| Sandro Botticelli |
Of course,
the biological truth is the male needs little provocation to become
aroused. Sex is a full-time
preoccupation with him – in urgency probably just behind defending his life and
eating to prevent starvation. The female’s
concern on the matter is just a bit more veiled. Being left with the responsibility of
childbirth leaves her somewhat circumspect.
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| Benvenuto Cellini |
Natural selection’s
role in determining the nature of secondary sexual characteristics is as
Darwinian in cause-and-effect as the shapes of beaks on Galapagos finches. The bird’s bill shape is determined by the
feeding niche available to the animal. A
diet of hard seeds requires a stout bill.
A longer, thinner beak is necessary for a bird that finds its food in
narrow passages. The demands of the bird’s
life style define its morphology.
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| Willendorf Venus |
What
external factors determine the nature of human sexuality? Individual survivability is not the primary
role of secondary sexual characteristics.
These are mostly visual cues having to do with messages concerning
reproduction in the strictest biological sense.
How successful one is at mating has much to do with one’s display – yes,
like a peacock spreading its tail feathers… although humans aren’t normally so
flamboyant about it. The pea-size brain
of a bird hasn’t much room for subtlety.
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| Pablo Picasso |
Human sexuality is more than physical
appearance but, all things being equal, visual appeal is definitely the tie-breaker. The attraction of one sex for the other is
determined by what the opposite sex finds desirable. Sexual characteristics of males are largely
determined by what females prefer in men, and vice versa. A woman’s seductive power is determined by
man’s desire. Once again, I want to keep
things in perspective. Peacocks haven’t
much variation in personality. We do. Humphrey Bogart got Lauren Bacall – not Cary
Grant. The woman on this month’s cover
of Cosmopolitan is not necessarily a
man’s fantasy.
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| Peter Paul Rubens |
The rules
for sexual attraction are not rigid.
Just look at the human population.
It suggests we have an enormous variety in taste when it comes to
finding a mate. Of course, society has a
role in the appearance of the human population.
Most civilizations at least make some effort at monogamy. One individual may have many conquests but
such relationships are not widely formalized into harems. We promote the egalitarian view of there
being someone special for everyone. It’s
healthy for everyone to be paired up.
Everyone needs to be on the dance floor, not lining the walls in sullen
frustration.
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| Salvador Dali |
The safety
found in modern society enables us to exhibit instances of exaggerated secondary
sexual characteristics. Jungle law no
longer restrains the more exotic human tastes.
Dolly Parton proportions aren’t conducive to being fleet of foot. Women of extraordinary curves and delicately
boned men were probably rare among prehistoric populations. There was a time in human history when Nature
was just as unforgiving to us as with all other individuals of the animal
kingdom.
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| Robert Crumb |
There was
basically one successful morphology for dogs in the wild – no Pekinese or bulldogs
or Dobermans. People have also broken free
from severe biological constraints. We
can be over seven feet tall or four foot six.
We can focus all our time on hitting a baseball better than anyone or we
can spend our days identifying what’s poetic in life.
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| Henry Moore |
We are an
extravagant species. We entertain
hilarious thoughts. If you appreciate
your sexual identity then you can thank the sex opposite you. It’s their erotic desires that largely made
you who you are. Think about it. Even as we accomplish the extraordinary with
our minds there is a part of us never far from the siren song of sexual desire.
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| Georgia O'Keeffe |
Love,
Dad
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