Many seemingly monogamous birds, for example, try to have their beefcake and eat it too. This is uncomfortably close to home. Like swallows, human females have clearly been trying an evolutionary mixed strategy. They have been choosing good and faithful husbands keen on child rearing, but they also have been rewarding macho showoffs with a disproportionate share in the next generation. However, men have their revenge.
Sexual selection is one-way traffic, which is why peacocks look ridiculous and peahens look normal.
They are quite selective in their choice of a mate, as much as females or even more. Women would not have these features if men had not been picking on them for such a long time. Pamela Anderson Lee was made by men, just as Mike Tyson was by women. Matt Ridley is the author of The Origins of Virtue and The Red Queen. Inc. All rights reserved.