Science loves rationalizing human behavior, and now one researcher has a new explanation as to why women appear to be more sexually fluid than men.
In a new article published in the journal Biological Review, Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics, proposed that women had to be more sexually fluid in order to survive. Kanazawa claimed that early polygamous marriages required women to have sex with one another so they didn't get all jealous of their male partner's sexual activity.
"The theory suggests that women may not have sexual orientations in the same sense as men do," said Kanazawa, according to a press release. "Rather than being straight or gay, to whom women are sexually attracted may depend largely on the particular partner, their reproductive status, and other circumstances."
How did Kanazawa land on this evolutionary deduction? He looked at data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which follows adolescents into adulthood, and found two conclusions that sufpported his theory. Not only did women who consider themselves sexually fluid have more children, but women who marry younger also tended to be more sexually fluid than women who married older. Women also tend not to face the same negative repercussions for experimenting with their sexuality than men, which could be a carry-over of this long-practiced behavior.
Keep in mind that Kanazawa has had a history of writing controversial scientific papers. In 2011, he faced an internal review at the London School of Economics and Political Science after publishing an article with Psychology Today claiming black women were less attractive. The article included unsupported scientific evidence. He later apologized and was allowed to keep his job.
These findings are just a theory at this point. Still, it might lend some evolutionary context to the reason Kary Perry kissed a girl and liked the taste of her cherry ChapStick so much.
