Science writer Matt Ridley popularized the term in connection with sexual selection in his 1993 book The Red Queen, in which he discussed the debate in theoretical biology over the adaptive benefit of sexual reproduction to those species in which it appears.
O escritor científico Matt Ridley popularizou este termo en relación coa selección sexual no seu libro de 1993 The Red Queen, no cal se presentaba o debate que había na bioloxía teórica sobre o beneficio adaptativo da reprodución sexual para aquelas especies nas que apareceu este tipo de reprodución.