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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: 2) by barbara hudson on Thursday August 06 2020, @07:50PM (5 children)

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Thursday August 06 2020, @07:50PM (#1032453) Journal

    Why would you lock your bedroom door? Accidentally lock yourself out when you get up to have a pee at 4 am, you're going to look pretty stupid breaking down the bedroom door to get your keys.

    The neighbours won't appreciate the noise, and they may think something evil tm is going on and call public security.

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  • (Score: 2) by Opportunist on Thursday August 06 2020, @09:18PM

    by Opportunist (5545) on Thursday August 06 2020, @09:18PM (#1032502)

    My neighbors know better than to call the cops when they heard strange noises from my bedroom.

  • (Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Friday August 07 2020, @03:11AM

    by ChrisMaple (6964) on Friday August 07 2020, @03:11AM (#1032674)

    The locks for internal home doors are different, and without using an unusual procedure cannot be locked from the keyhole side. If the door is locked before closing it, it pops unlocked when the strike plate presses in the bolt. In addition, they can be unlocked with any object that can provide sufficient torque to the keyhole; a screwdriver will do.

  • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Friday August 07 2020, @03:21AM (2 children)

    by Magic Oddball (3847) on Friday August 07 2020, @03:21AM (#1032683) Journal

    Most locking bedroom door knobs can only be locked from inside the room, and have to be unlocked in order to open the door... They can typically also be unlocked from the outside just by sticking a small thin object into a hole in the middle of the knob to manipulate the lock internally, for safety reasons.

    Though it's a moot point in my area: pretty much any single-family home, condo, duplex, etc. built after the 1930s was designed so the master bedroom has its own attached bathroom. (The lower-end apartments typically don't, though.)

    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday August 07 2020, @12:59PM (1 child)

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday August 07 2020, @12:59PM (#1032845) Journal
      Ever had a kid accidentally lock themselves in the bathroom and they can't get out? So now you've got to look for a nail to unlock the door. Same with bedrooms - which can be a real problem in an emergency, when the people inside can't even find the door because it's dark, and you've got to find a nail in the dark, in an emergency situation. Or kick down the door.

      Both of those take time.

      Easier to avoid locks. We were taught to knock on the bathroom door before entering. Simple solutions to simple problems. Same as I don't lock my front door when I'm out - if there's a fire, I would rather someone just open the door and let the dogs out than have to wait for fire crews to show up - they have more important priorities than saving two dogs.

      Locks on internal doors? Why - don't you trust the people you live with? Did they grow up in a barn and not learn to respect other people's rooms as private?

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      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @08:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @08:26PM (#1033136)

        Thanks for letting us know that you don't lock the door when you use a public stall.