"Men Want Something Else"

Paper Summary:

This paper argues at length that Buss' article, while well-written and generally well-researched, fails to contemplate a number of issues which spring up around the topic of mate selection. It looks at how because of this, Buss appears to offer simply a rationale or even an "excuse" for a social construct that does, indeed, reduce women to a reproductive role and little more than that; he also unwittingly gives credence to the fairly superficial nature of our society vis-a-vis sexual relations between the genders.

Outline
Critique and Transition
Buss' Treatment of Environmental Factors
Buss' Discussion (or Non-Discussion) of Disability Hierarchies
Buss and the Politics of Reproduction
Political Implications Raised by each of the Aforementioned Issues
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Turning momentarily to environmental influences, it is evident that Buss cleaves to the position that biology and not society (for the most part) shapes who we wed and who we choose not to wed; for instance, the male desire for physically attractive, nubile and healthy women extends across all cultures. However, he acknowledges that factors such as chastity and the desirable "plumpness" of a potential mate are determined to some extent by cultural or societal factors such as the relative availability of food in a particular community. The strength of Buss' article, in the view of this reader, lies in his ability to illustrate the persistence in certain trends across cultures - while conceding, where necessary, that cultural externalities can play some role (Buss, 2003). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Buss, David. (2003). Men want something else. In The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating (49-72). New York: Basic Books.
• Darwin's natural selection. (no date provided). In Evolution's Rainbow (165-175). Additional bibliographic information not provided.
• Haraway, Donna. (no date provided by client). Investment strategies for the evolving portfolio of primate females. Pp.139-162. (Additional bibliographic information not provided by client).
• Hubbard, Ruth. (1990). Who should and who should not inhabit the world? In The Politics of Women's Biology. Pp.179-198. (Additional bibliographic information not provided by client).
• Maranto (?), Gina. (1996). Sperm banks. In Quest for Perfection. Pp.182-184. (Additional bibliographic information not provided).

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