Imagine If

Sexual Strategy and Close Encounters


So a question needs to be answered; when Mankind (and Womankind) meet extraterrestrials, will sex be a topic that, ahem. . . arises?


I believe it was the mighty Asimov who proposed that alien visitors, besides being impossible because the rules of our local universe forbid the trip, would be either shockingly like us, or unfathomably different. Our shape and gross structure are dictated by much more than random evolution – gravity, atmosphere, ecology, and more helped form us. We'll likely resemble and understand the alien from similar eco-background, and most would be, since life seems most likely to be successful on planets like ours. Other life would come from situations so rare and weird that we may not even be able to communicate base concepts, much less fornicate. Heck, we might not even recognize each other as life forms. 


I'm going to make some initial statements about the importance of sex that ya'll may not agree with – just keep your shirt on and bear with me:  1) Among sexual species, sexual success is the one best way to survive, 2) we humans are one of the most sexual species on Earth, and 3) sexual success strategies are common, powerful, and important. 


Sexual species must procreate to survive. Big teeth, long lived, great speed – whatever a species does well, it must also pass this to the next generation sexually. If there are no babies, the species will die, no matter what other consideration; and any tendency to not breed will simply be left out of the next generation. Flipside – any tendency to desire and enjoy sex will be passed on to the next generation. In fact, any behavior resulting in sex is likely to be passed down to the next generations via instinct or social education. An example of instinctual human sexual behavior is the male tendency to seek slender, youthful females – young, healthy mate means many healthy babies. An example of social sexual behavior is monogamy – one female with one male gives the widest genetic diversity with the largest number of babies. Both examples seek success via sex.


Thanks to our brain, we humans have one of the largest sexual organ to body mass ratios among sexual species – a relatively large part of us is made for lovin' (and breeding). Furthermore, we are one of the few species blessed (or cursed) with no breeding cycle – women can have sex at will or desire without awaiting "heat" or season, and men are sexually responsive even without female stimulation (nuff said on that).  This all makes us humans probably the most sexual species on the planet, if not in the galaxy. 


Sexual strategies are behaviors that promote sex and successful procreation. For instance, we’ve been tribal a lot longer than not, so to avoid inbreeding the desire to seek mates outside the tribe is a powerful sexual motivator.  This means that someone who looks different from your friends and family is often attractive and fair sexual game. Success is a good sexual strategy, so long as the success is obvious enough to show potential mates that offspring will benefit – fame, power, prowess, and wealth are all powerful aphrodisiacs.  Promiscuity is a tried and true successful sex strategy – promiscuous males have more offspring, and promiscuous females insure that their babies benefit from varied genetics, and often have more support for pregnancy and child-rearing. Sexual wanderlust is built into all of us to some degree – a desire to sexually  wander geographically, socially, and financially. I'm not making this up and I'm not saying these are the best parts of us – just the facts.


We like sex, we want sex, we're good at sex, sex is possibly the biggest drive in our lives. Any alien with a brain cell and a sexual organ will probably figure this out within the first 15 minutes of serious study – the time it takes to begin the next round of commercials on his abducted TV. Further study of popular entertainment, illicit porn, and classical mythology/theology will tell our inquisitive alien that despite widely talked about morals, humans will consider sex with demons, angels, gods, animals, and inanimate objects, not to mention sex with each other in wildly unprocreative positions and groups. Scary, I bet. 


Imagine then that this craft full of aliens shows up, having traveled far, with limited crew (and limited sexual opportunity). These horny interplanetary sailors would become instantly famous, social, and potentially wealthy. I think we'll understand each other, don't you? 


Whew, I need a cigarette. Was it good for you?