Warning - The content of this article is explicit. Narrow-minded people, and aunts&uncles who read my blog, kindly refrain from going further; but if you cannot, please do not hold me accountable.
Everyone has a funny incident from their early years that sticks on for a lifetime - and this is the account of that story of mine.
When I was interning in Psychiatry, it was the routine of taking up a patient's case study and discussing it with the consultant along with the patient, so that it would be a learning and teaching experience together. There were four consultants in the department, and on that eventful day, I had to present my case to Shumbhuji. When you looked at him, you really couldn't imagine him as a psychiatrist, with his big fat belly and lazy eyes, and would rather pass him on as a shop-keeper instead. He seemed to be the disinterested one, often caught sleeping during important seminars.
My patient that day, was disinterested in sex with her husband, due to which he started having an affair. It turned out that she had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) wherein, she found sex a dirty act and needed to keep herself clean. Having reached the diagnosis, it was time for Shumbhuji to put on his show as the great counselor - आदमी का जो ____ होता है - I choked on the water I was drinking when I heard the word! I went red in the face and just wanted to crawl under the table. But Shumbhuji kept on about it's importance, why Lord Shiva's is worshiped, while my patient was completely enthralled as this sexual evolution of man was revealed to her!
His theory was that monogamy is based on the size of a man's tool (I am trying to be as decent as I can). Basis this, Man actually stands between the Chimpanzee and the Gorilla. (I wish I were artistic enough to actually draw that image, couldn't find it on the internet. But does this mean that the theory is wrong or no one bothered with the image? Anyhow, back to the story...) Chimpanzees have a smaller size and apparently do not stick to one female. The Gorilla on the other hand, has a much larger tool, and remains loyal to one female.
Hmm....and since then I have pondered on this theory, and discussed with girlfriends. But assumption were not enough, and I had to research whether this was true. Alas, I have no literature supporting this. The closest reference I got was from this blog - http://alexk2009.hubpages.com/hub/Humans-are-not-monogamous-by-nature - We relatively hairless apes share a common ancestor with Bonobo Apes, Chimpanzees and Gorillas. Gorillas have harems, Chimpanzees have a power based society that lacks monogamy, and Bonobo Apes are most similar to humans in their sexual behaviour, but unlike humans they resolve disputes with sex not violence. We Humans exhibit sexual behaviour that has aspects from each of our three Great Ape Siblings.
Ironically, I came across an article by Dr. Phil that says the exact opposite, which I am NOT going to share because there are other points over which some women might obsess over and ruin a perfectly good relationship.
So N, I have finally shared this story, and we will never truly know whether Shumbhuji's ideology holds true.
Everyone has a funny incident from their early years that sticks on for a lifetime - and this is the account of that story of mine.
When I was interning in Psychiatry, it was the routine of taking up a patient's case study and discussing it with the consultant along with the patient, so that it would be a learning and teaching experience together. There were four consultants in the department, and on that eventful day, I had to present my case to Shumbhuji. When you looked at him, you really couldn't imagine him as a psychiatrist, with his big fat belly and lazy eyes, and would rather pass him on as a shop-keeper instead. He seemed to be the disinterested one, often caught sleeping during important seminars.
My patient that day, was disinterested in sex with her husband, due to which he started having an affair. It turned out that she had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) wherein, she found sex a dirty act and needed to keep herself clean. Having reached the diagnosis, it was time for Shumbhuji to put on his show as the great counselor - आदमी का जो ____ होता है - I choked on the water I was drinking when I heard the word! I went red in the face and just wanted to crawl under the table. But Shumbhuji kept on about it's importance, why Lord Shiva's is worshiped, while my patient was completely enthralled as this sexual evolution of man was revealed to her!
His theory was that monogamy is based on the size of a man's tool (I am trying to be as decent as I can). Basis this, Man actually stands between the Chimpanzee and the Gorilla. (I wish I were artistic enough to actually draw that image, couldn't find it on the internet. But does this mean that the theory is wrong or no one bothered with the image? Anyhow, back to the story...) Chimpanzees have a smaller size and apparently do not stick to one female. The Gorilla on the other hand, has a much larger tool, and remains loyal to one female.
Hmm....and since then I have pondered on this theory, and discussed with girlfriends. But assumption were not enough, and I had to research whether this was true. Alas, I have no literature supporting this. The closest reference I got was from this blog - http://alexk2009.hubpages.com/hub/Humans-are-not-monogamous-by-nature - We relatively hairless apes share a common ancestor with Bonobo Apes, Chimpanzees and Gorillas. Gorillas have harems, Chimpanzees have a power based society that lacks monogamy, and Bonobo Apes are most similar to humans in their sexual behaviour, but unlike humans they resolve disputes with sex not violence. We Humans exhibit sexual behaviour that has aspects from each of our three Great Ape Siblings.
Ironically, I came across an article by Dr. Phil that says the exact opposite, which I am NOT going to share because there are other points over which some women might obsess over and ruin a perfectly good relationship.
So N, I have finally shared this story, and we will never truly know whether Shumbhuji's ideology holds true.
Thanks Ritisha for the post! I can imagine ur position while Shambhuji ws discussing all this.. I also choked on water that i was drinking at that particular line..
ReplyDeleteAbout his ideology, can't say!
hahahahahahaha.... awesome story and what an insight!
ReplyDeleteLittle knowledge is dangerous!
ReplyDeletePUBLISHED: 18:08 GMT, 1 August 2013 | UPDATED: 18:08 GMT, 1 August 2013
Friday, Aug 02 2013 6PM 23°C 9PM 17°C 5-Day Forecast
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Male mammals don’t stay monogamous to produce fitter offspring, they do it for love and to protect their partner
Male mammals aren’t monogamous in order to produce fitter offspring, according to new research, instead they do it so they can stay with their mate and protect her from harm.
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Monogamous pairing in animals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sexual dimorphism[edit source | editbeta]
Sexual dimorphism refers to differences in body characteristics between females and males. A frequently studied type of sexual dimorphism is body size. For example among mammals, males typically have larger bodies than females. In other orders, however, females have larger bodies than males. Sexual dimorphism in body size has been linked to mating behavior.[3][4][5][6] In polygynous species, males compete for control over sexual access to females. Large males have an advantage in the competition for access to females, and they consequently pass their genes along to a greater number of offspring. This eventually leads to large differences in body size between females and males. Polygynous males are often 1.5 to 2.0 times larger in size than females. In monogamous species, on the other hand, females and males have more equal access to mates, so there is little or no sexual dimorphism in body size. These studies raise the possibility that Australopithecus had a polygamous mating system. Sexual dimorphism then began to decrease. Studies suggest sexual dimorphism reached modern human levels around the time of Homo Erectus 0.5 to 2 million years ago.[4][5][8][10] This line of reasoning suggests human ancestors started out polygamous and began the transition to monogamy somewhere between 0.5 million and 2 million years ago.
Testis size[edit source | editbeta]
The relative sizes of male testes often reflect mating systems.[13][14][15][16] In species with promiscuous mating systems, where many males mate with many females, the testes tend to be relatively large. This appears to be the result of sperm competition. Males with large testes produce more sperm and thereby gain an advantage impregnating females. In polygynous species, where one male controls sexual access to females, the testes tend to be small. One male defends exclusive sexual access to a group of females and thereby eliminates sperm competition.
Studies of primates, including humans, support the relationship between testis size and mating system.[15][16][17] Chimpanzees, which have a promiscuous mating system, have large testes compared to other primates. Gorillas, which have a polygynous mating system, have smaller testes than other primates. Humans, which have a socially monogamous mating system, accompanied by moderate amounts of sexual non-monogamy (see incidence of monogamy), have moderately sized testes.
Choice is yours humans or animals!