Bitch: On the Female of the Species

by Lucy Cooke

In dozens of female primates, such gadfly madness provokes a frenzy of sexual activity that far exceeds what’s required to fertilize the egg on offer. Some have even been observed seeking out sex when there is no egg to fertilize. Hrdy documented her langurs seducing alien males from outside the troop during pregnancy. Whilst others, such as orangutans and marmosets, show continuous receptivity and, like humans, are sexually active throughout their cycle. Such excessive behaviour is not without risks. Retaliatory attacks by possessive males, venereal disease, increased predation risks from leaving the troop, not to mention all the energy required to power this ‘excessive’ sexual activity make female philandering anything but cost-free. Far from being monandrous, therefore, females are apparently under strong selection pressure to be promiscuous. ‘In retrospect, one really does have to wonder why it was nearly 1980 before promiscuity among females attracted more than cursory theoretical interest,’ Hrdy