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posted by chromas on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the go-away,-batin'! dept.

Why do humans prefer to mate in private?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that human beings generally prefer to mate in private—but why? And why is it so rare? Other than humans, only one other species has demonstrated a preference for privacy during mating: Arabian babblers. To learn more, [anthropologist Yitzchak] Ben Mocha retrieved data from 4,572 accounts of cultural studies—ethnographies—and studied them looking for what he describes as normal sexual practices. Those involved were not trying to shock or avoid punishment for engaging in taboo practices such as incest—and were also not in the pornography business. He found that virtually every known culture practices private mating—even in places where privacy is difficult to find. He also looked for examples of other animals mating in private, and found none, except for the babblers. He also found that there were no explanations for it, and in fact, there were very few other people wondering why humans have such a proclivity. And, not surprisingly, he was unable to find any evolutionary theories on the topic.

Journal Reference:
Yitzchak Ben Mocha. Why do human and non-human species conceal mating? The cooperation maintenance hypothesis, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1330)


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:46PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:46PM (#1032360)

    Aren't scientists supposed to state their assumptions? There's a big one here: people are just another animal. Discuss.

    Starting Score:    0  points
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       Insightful=2, Interesting=1, Disagree=1, Total=4
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    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday August 06 2020, @07:39PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday August 06 2020, @07:39PM (#1032440)

    Some animals are very private about their mating. Animals kept prisoner in zoos: often not, but sometimes just as much.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Immerman on Thursday August 06 2020, @08:05PM (8 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Thursday August 06 2020, @08:05PM (#1032460)

    > There's a big one here: people are just another animal. Discuss.
    Given the steadily growing body of evidence that humans don't possess any traits that aren't also possessed by at least some other other animals, plus the total lack of any evidence that there's anything else special about us, the discussion is pretty much long dead outside of seminary school.

    We're animals. The combination of complex language, symbolic reasoning, and thumbs allowed us to build a far more sophisticated culture than most, but we're still animals.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by fustakrakich on Thursday August 06 2020, @09:40PM (6 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday August 06 2020, @09:40PM (#1032511) Journal

      "Some animals are more equal than others" - John Belushi

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 3, Touché) by tizan on Thursday August 06 2020, @09:58PM (5 children)

        by tizan (3245) on Thursday August 06 2020, @09:58PM (#1032522)

        I believe it is from Orwell's Animal Farm well before that

        • (Score: 3, Touché) by fustakrakich on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:08PM

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:08PM (#1032526) Journal

          Farm... House... It's all the same

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 4, Interesting) by shortscreen on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:17PM (3 children)

          by shortscreen (2252) on Thursday August 06 2020, @10:17PM (#1032535) Journal

          What is your opinion on SN potentially adding a "whoosh" moderation category?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @01:47AM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @01:47AM (#1032632)

            TMB has been asked before. I believe his reply was that a moderation that applied to almost all posts was useless.

            • (Score: 5, Funny) by hendrikboom on Friday August 07 2020, @02:53AM (1 child)

              by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 07 2020, @02:53AM (#1032666) Homepage Journal

              I don't even know what such a moderation would mean.

              • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @05:06AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @05:06AM (#1032749)

                Whoosh

    • (Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Friday August 07 2020, @02:35AM

      by ChrisMaple (6964) on Friday August 07 2020, @02:35AM (#1032659)

      humans don't possess any traits that aren't also possessed by at least some other other animals

      I was discussing this very thing with the uniformed tiger driving the school bus. He said his wife, a snapping turtle, was in full agreement.