<Sociosexuality
The Reproductive Dichotomy Theory of Conservatives and Liberals
Reproduction. While the religious conservatives view Darwinism as some sort of Satanic cult, ironically, they are the reigning dynasts in the human world of reproductive advantage. Out-reproducing competitors is indeed one of the great theaters of natural selection, and among humans, this game varies greatly by political-religious disposition. The following discussion actually comes from our report in 2007, and is reprinted here due to a spike in interest in the subject.
We received 1,993 responses to our Sex Survey questionnaire, consisting of 1,351 males and 642 females. Even given the drop-off in Liberal response rates, they were still over-represented (N=973), while Conservatives, very willing to express their opinions about such controversial issues as race and religion, avoided reporting on their sex lives, and were under-represented (N=395).
Nevertheless, the data points to some interesting variations in Conservative and Liberal sexual behavior. Overall, the Conservatives have retained a distinctive reproductive valence to their sexual behavior, while Liberals have substantially undermined fertility in their sex lives, and seem to be adapting a sort of sociosexuality, that is, sex that has lost its reproductive significance, and now performs social functions, such as neutralizing intragroup competition and aggression.
In last month's edition, we reported on a number of erographic parameters by religious disposition. Religiosity is highly correlated with political disposition, as Conservatives usually describe themselves as religious, while Liberals tend to describe themselves as agnostic, atheistic, or spiritual. The Moderates fall in between, and are more unpredictable in their religious disposition.
Religiosity correlates with some interesting differences in the political characteristics of Conservatives and Liberals. As we move towards a taxonomy of political disposition, the addition of religious disposition is necessary, as it will improve the prediction of political attitudes dramatically. The combination of political-religious disposition runs right into the science of population biology, and the r-K reproductive spectrum, as political-religious disposition is fundamentally about reproductive strategies (see the Population Biology of Conservatives and Liberals). However, we are not going to make the leap into a political-religious taxonomy just yet, and will follow our standard taxonomy of political affiliation.
The Politics of Copulation, Masturbation, and Pornography
The human arm is just long enough to support easy access to the genital region, which may be one of evolution's most hidden, yet important contribution to human social behavior. Males masturbate much more that they copulate, which implies a substantial evolutionary value for masturbation. But what could it be? Before we attempt an answer, let's see how our political cohorts behave when it relates to copulation, masturbation, and pornography.
Copulation, masturbation, and pornography, by gender and political affiliation
(NP=Nonpolitical, VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, M=Moderate, LB=Libertarian, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative)
In the above table, we see very high rates of masturbation and copulation. Our Sex Survey has attracted a younger demographic, and a more sexually aroused demographic at that. We believe these rates exceed the actual population rates by about 30%. Also note that we are including N, which is the sample size for a particular political-gender cohort. This is to inform the reader of the very low sample sizes we received from females, and Conservatives in particular.
But even with the low sample sizes, we see distinctive trends by political affiliation. First, copulation rates among females are highest in the conservative side of the political spectrum (both Conservatives and Very Conservatives). There is no trend among males, although the Very Conservatives reported the highest rate.
The Conservatives of both genders reported the lowest rates of masturbation. The rest of the political cohorts, with the possible exception of the Moderate males, show elevated masturbation trends. Among males, frequent masturbation lowers sperm counts and negatively impacts the probability of fertilization during intercourse.
In addition to the negative impact on fertility, frequent masturbation modulates a number of neurochemicals, including prolactin, dopamine, and serotonin. The modulation of the dopamine system is especially interesting, due to our proposal that it is primarily responsible for the regulation of behaviors associated with conservatism (see Conservative Left Brain, Liberal Right Brain).
The experience of orgasm corresponds to a surge of activity in the ventral tegmental pathways of the dopamine system. However, the orgasmic dopamine surge is followed quickly by surges in prolactin and serotonin release, dampening the impact of dopamine, resulting in a post-copulatory "low", which corresponds to the general loss of motivation and reward-seeking immediately following orgasms.
Since this masturbatory down-regulation of the dopamine system can last one or more days, this raises some very intriguing questions. First, are the Liberals, Moderates, and Libertarians experiencing a greater down-regulation of their dopamine levels via elevated levels of masturbation? Further, does this reduce their general levels of reward-seeking, having the additional impact of reducing mate competition and intragroup competition in general? Intriguing questions indeed.
We have previously noted that the serotonin system seems to be more active in the behavioral characteristics of Liberals. This poses another interesting question. Are the non-Conservatives, in particular the Liberals, which report elevated levels of anxiety and depression, upregulating their serotonin systems via elevated levels of masturbation, using it to counteract their relative deficit in dopamine tone? There is also evidence that the upregulation of the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system is facilitated by masturbation.
It is interesting to note, from the above table, that the Conservatives of both genders are unique, along with the Moderate males, in their preferences for copulatory orgasms. The reproductive implications are substantial, as white Conservatives want more children and have more children than white Liberals.
The usage of pornography, again elevated among the Liberals, Moderates, and Libertarians, correlates well with their preferences for masturbatory orgasms, giving pornography a probable role in the decrease in ferility rates and mate competition, and ultimately intragroup competition. Again, the highly-reproductive Conservatives report much lower rates of pornography usage. The social implications of masturbation seem to be enormous.
Sociosexuality, Flirting, Fantasizing, Threesomes, and Group Sex
Following our theme of sociosexuality, or sexual behavior that reduces intragroup conflict and competition, we queried our survey respondents about how often they flirt, whether they fantasize about having sex with others, and their arousal levels to the idea of threesomes and group sex. This data is seen in the table below.
Flirting, fantasizing, threesomes, and group sex by gender and political affiliation
(NP=Nonpolitical, VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, M=Moderate, LB=Libertarian, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative)
As seen in the above table, females, on average, tend to flirt slightly more than males. There is indeed an evolutionary advantage to flirting, which improves access to economic resources and sex for both females and males. But how does flirting impact social behavior in general?
The sociosexual impact of flirting is speculative, as flirting seems to elevate the dopamine system, providing a sense of pleasure when it is reciprocated. The social impact of flirting within a group of humans, such as seen at the workplace, seems to improve both mood and "altruistic" behaviors, although "altruism" in this context is arguably an investment with a potential payback for a future sexual favor.
The percent of people reporting they fantasize about having sex with others is quite high, especially among males. Fantasizing about others is neurologically complex, and interestingly, seems to result in the "mapping" of another person's body among the large number of internal neural maps maintained for somatic functions. If this is true, then fantasizing about others would have a similar neurological impact as having actual sex with those persons, thereby promoting altruistic behavior.
The arousal scores in the above table, to both the idea of threesomes and group sex, was based a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being the highest level of arousal. The Conservatives, in both genders, reported the lowest levels of arousal for both these sexual fantasies, which is certainly consistent with their greater requirements for monogamous sex practices to support their higher reproductive rates.
Males reported higher rates of arousal for group sex and threesomes, most likely due to their lower burden of reproduction. We can only speculate about the sociosexual implications of group sex, which seem to reduce intragroup conflict, as seen in other species, such as the bonobos.
The Politics of Reproductive Yield and Sociosexual Behavior
High reproductive rates are facilitated by longer relationships, which seem to be a countervailing influence against the social bonding influences of less-restrictive sex. Population density and reproductive rates are inversely related, and divorce rates in urban areas are higher than in rural and suburban populations.
As population density increases, sexuality takes on a progressively more social function, sacrificing reproduction and promoting social cohesiveness. Let's take a look at some other data that highlights the diverse adaptations of sexuality for reproduction and social cohesion.
Children wanted, length of relationship, heterosexuality, and number of sex partners, by gender and political affiliation
(NP=Nonpolitical, VL=Very Liberal, L=Liberal, M=Moderate, LB=Libertarian, C=Conservative, VC=Very Conservative)
As seen above, the Conservative males were substantially elevated in the number of children desired, and have correspondingly longer relationships to support it. The Conservative females were also elevated in both variables. The Conservative females reported the fewest number of sex partners, as their sexual behavior has a distinctively reproductive orientation.
On the other hand, the Liberals had lower desires for children, shorter relationships, more sex partners, and a lower self-rating of heterosexuality. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest rate of heterosexuality, the Conservatives in both genders reported the highest level of heterosexuality, while the Liberals in both genders reported the lowest. We have noted this same asymmetry in Sexual and Political Preference.
The sociosexual significance of homosexuality is intriguing, in that homosexual behavior may indeed reduce intragroup competition and conflict, especially as population densities increase. Population density is correlated with homosexual behavior in both humans and primates in general.
Liberals have dramatically undermined the reproductive significance of sex, and have substituted a sociosexuality that seems to lower intragroup competition and aggression. The urbanistic Liberals subvert reproduction quite effectively, and have transformed sexuality from a reproductive support function and into a social-bonding function. Conservatives maintain a distinctly reproductive significance, and rely more on social and religious controls that restrict sexual practices that tend to reduce reproductive yield and the certainty of paternity.
Charles Brack, December 2007
