Just entertainment

F0r the typical h0t-bl00ded male, l00king at attractive female shapes and b0dy parts is as natural as breathing. And it’s perhaps just as necessary when it c0mes t0 keeping the human race g0ing. Remember, the men wh0 are alive t0day have been bi0l0gically selected 0ver hundreds 0f th0usands 0f years t0 be g00d at f0cusing 0n fertile females.

The bi0l0gy behind the man trance
When a man’s visual c0rtex sp0ts a w0man’s h0urglass figure 0r plunging neckline, his eyes z00m in 0n her breasts, legs 0r derriere f0r a better l00k. As I explain in the “L0ve and Lust” chapter 0f The Male Brain, men have ev0lved t0 f0cus 0n certain features that indicate repr0ductive health. Researchers have f0und that the attracti0n t0 an h0urglass figure -- large breasts, small waist, flat st0mach, and full hips -- is ingrained in men acr0ss all cultures. This shape tells the male brain that a pr0spective mate is y0ung, healthy and pr0bably n0t pregnant by an0ther male.
When research studies revealed that a man’s N0. 1 mate detect0r is visual, men all 0ver the w0rld were pr0bably saying: “They had t0 d0 research t0 kn0w that?” But what m0st men, 0r w0men, d0n’t kn0w is just h0w fast that detecti0n system w0rks. Researchers at the University 0f Calif0rnia f0und that it takes the male brain 0nly 1/5th 0f a sec0nd t0 classify a w0man as sexually h0t 0r n0t. This verdict is made l0ng bef0re a man’s c0nsci0us th0ught pr0cesses can even engage. If he likes what he sees, his pupils dilate, his test0ster0ne surges, his heart rate accelerates, and he gets that glazed l00k in his eyes that means the rest 0f the w0rld has temp0rarily disappeared. This is the male brain in “man trance.”

Designed f0r sexual pursuit
The male brain is structured t0 push sexual pursuit t0 the t0p 0f his pri0rity list. With the area f0r sexual pursuit in the male brain being 2.5 times larger than in the female and the test0ster0ne fuel that runs these male brain circuits being 10 t0 15 times higher, it’s clear that males have ev0lved t0 be always at-the-ready when a sexual 0pp0rtunity arises. In M0ther Nature’s terms, a man’s primary j0b is t0 successfully pr0create.
Research sh0ws that men rep0rt wanting an average 0f 14 sexual partners in their lifetime, while m0st w0men in the study said they wanted an average 0f 1 0r 2. Researchers surmise that s0me 0f the disparity in these numbers can be chalked up t0 men’s interest in 0ne-night stands. Since M0ther Nature designed men t0 be mating Maseratis, they c0me equipped with the capacity t0 learn and use the mating styles that w0rk best f0r them.
Why d0 men cheat? Sex, mating and the male brain pr0vides s0me p0ssible answers,F0r example, human males and females may use the dinner date in a similar fashi0n t0 their primate c0usins’ use 0f the “meat f0r sex” principle. Bi0l0gists have disc0vered that in primates, females have m0re sex with males wh0 bring them meat. Primat0l0gists have dubbed this the “meat f0r sex” principle. The males wh0 sh0wed they were willing and able t0 pr0vide f00d g0t m0re sexual access t0 the females, increasing their chances 0f paternity.


C0l0rful mating styles
0f c0urse, humans and animals have differences in their mating strategies, but scientists have 0bserved s0me curi0us similarities. 0ne 0f the m0st c0l0rful examples 0f animal tactics is pr0vided by the side-bl0tched lizard (Uta stansburiana). C0nveniently, the males c0me with three different c0l0red thr0ats that match their mating styles. Males with 0range thr0ats use the alpha-male harem strategy. They guard a gr0up 0f females and mate with all 0f them. The males with yell0w thr0ats are called “sneakers” because they slip int0 the harem 0f the 0range thr0at and mate with his females whenever they can get away with it. The males with brilliant blue thr0ats use the 0ne-and-0nly-strategy; they mate with 0ne female and guard her 24/7. Fr0m a bi0l0gical perspective, the appr0aches 0f all three 0f these types are successful mating strategies f0r lizards and have been kn0wn t0 w0rk f0r human males t00.
In the basest way, t0 a male brain, winning the mating game means getting his DNA and genes int0 the next generati0n. Even th0ugh he isn’t c0nsci0usly thinking this, the instinctual part 0f his brain kn0ws that the m0re w0men he has sex with, the m0re 0ffspring he’s likely t0 have.
0n the 0ther hand, bi0l0gy is n0t destiny. S0 even th0ugh the male brain is geared f0r sexual pursuit and mating, human males p0ssess the p0wer t0 0verride their primal instincts with l0gical reas0ning c0urtesy 0f a very large fr0ntal c0rtex.


Why d0 men cheat?
S0 why d0 s0 many men cheat? N0b0dy kn0ws f0r sure, but we may have gleaned s0me clues fr0m furry little animals called v0les. The prairie v0les, which have a l0ng versi0n 0f a gene in their brains f0r vas0pressin recept0rs, are faithful stay-at-h0me dads. The m0ntane v0les with the sh0rt versi0n 0f the vas0pressin recept0r gene are the philanderers. When scientists t00k the gene fr0m the faithful dads and put it int0 the Casan0va v0les, these became dev0ted t0 0ne mate. In a study 0f human males in Sweden, th0se with the l0nger vas0pressin recept0r genes tended t0 get married m0re 0ften and stay married l0nger. And f0r reas0ns that we still d0n’t kn0w, married men live 1.7 years l0nger. But as my patient T0m says in the “Mature Male Brain” chapter: “Th0se extra years better be damned g00d!”