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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @07:57PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @07:57PM (#1032455)

    I have been extremely pleased with the guidance I recieved from the Church as it pertains to sexual habits. I have a wonderful wife and kids, whereas a lot of my friends, now in their thirties, who chose to have a more unrestrained sexual life are mostly miserable and alone.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @05:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @05:21AM (#1032759)

    Let's keep it real, you couldn't get any when you were young and now you got lucky once you're hanging onto it for dear life.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @04:16PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 07 2020, @04:16PM (#1032971)

    I'm an atheist with a wonderful wife and kids, so I think your situation says more about your friends' stupidity than it does about the value of religious views of sex.