Why do we have sex? Why do human beings put so much effort into having it? The basic answer would be because it feels pleasurable. Yes, that is true, sex can be quite a pleasurable sensation, but there are many pleasurable things like eating a piece of chocolate or getting a nice soothing massage, yet we don’t put anywhere near the amount of time and effort into doing these things as we do towards having sex. Another answer is for the purpose of reproduction, but with the plethora of birth control oppositions (birth control pills, condoms, etc) is that really a viable reason why most people have for having sex, particularly in the Western world?
What is the purpose of sex? easy enough to answer. It is the mechanism that organisms use to propagate their genes into the next generation(well, at least half), and why do organisms(multicellular organisms such as mammals, fish, and birds) use this method? Well, some have theorized that it helps bolster their progenies’ immune system by having shared its genetic information from two genetically distinct parents. Current theories place the emergence of sex around five hundred million years ago.
All life’s purpose on this planet is to reproduce( as nihilistic as that sounds), and it is no different for humans. Our urge to have sex is a by-product of millions of years of evolutionary history. Our ability to discriminate between sexual partners under the guise of physical attraction is also a by-product of our evolutionary history. Physically attractive people are supposed to have a good immune system so the theory goes.
And what about the differences between the sexes when it comes to their attitudes about. Anyone who has dealings with both men and women would discover their attitudes towards sex are decisively different. Men are more prone to sexual escapades and seem to be less discriminatory when it comes to who they have sex with. Women are generally more coy. This makes sense when you realize the two sexes don’t share the same burden when it comes to sex, i.e, women get pregnant and will take the brunt of the child rearing, so it makes sense for them to be the more prejudiced who they copulate with. Men, on the other hand, are programmed to have sex with as many partners as possible(if they actually choose to do this, it is their own choice, of course). Need proof on how promiscuous men can be, gay men are a perfect example, their ability to have sometimes hundreds of sexual partners is because of course, because they are not inhibited by women’s natural coyness.
So, back to my original argument on why to have sex. To be more emotionally attached to somebody, a reasonable argument, your brain releases certain chemicals that almost make you more attached to the person you are having sex with(evidence suggests this is more true for women than it is for men), but a lot of people hook up all the time, sometimes even having one-night stands. Can you really be emotionally attached to a person you are minimally familiar with, and what about the countless women who give up their bodies to alpha males(i.e, athletes, rappers, politicians, and other men of stature), can you really say these women love these men, perhaps on a very superficial level?
Humans’ potency to have sex is nothing more than just evolutionary mechanisms put in place to make sure we are acting on evolutionary obligations to propagate genes into the next generation.
Da Joanis Project 