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Reading Guide – Dawkins: Battle of the SexesReading Guide –Dawkins: Battle of the SexesThis reading is taken from,Dawkins, Richard: The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press. 2006(30th anniversary edition, the work was originally published in 1976)Preliminary Remarks:When doing this reading assignment, it is important to keep in mind that in this text, Dawkins envisions how sexual reproduction looks like from the perspective of an individual gene. As the title of the book from which this reading is taken suggests, in Dawkins’ view, genes are selfish. All they are interested in is their individual continued existence. This means that they care about other versions (alleles) of themselves or other genes, or about the organisms they inhabit only in as far as they are necessary to perpetuate their own existence. This is a perspective very different from the one we usually take. You may think that you are important as an individual person and organism. From the perspective of the genes you carry, that’s not necessarily true. In fact, you are a lost cause, a sinking ship. You are constantly aging and will inevitably die. That will be the end of the line for you. This is not necessarily the case for the genes inhabiting your body. If they can find a way to jump ship, their continued existence may be ensured despite your certain future demise. Of course, the way to jump ship is to make you reproduce. Genes will work hard to make you do it, regardless of whether this is in your best interest, the best interest of your partners in reproduction, or the best interest of the resulting offspring. All that counts for genes is to be passed on into the next generation.Questions about the Textp. 140, first paragraphWhat is each partner in reproduction trying to do to the other?Usually, sexual behavior, copulation, and courtship had been thought of as a cooperative undertaking but according to Trivers (another author) a sexual partnership is a relation of what?p. 141, top paragraphDawkins explains the criterion used for biological sex by biologists. We are already familiar with it from our reading of Roughgarden’s Sex Versus Gender. What is it?According to Dawkins, what can be interpreted as stemming from this one basic difference between the sexes?p. 141, bottom paragraphWhat do eggs and sperms contribute in equal numbers? What do they not contribute equally?p. 142, top paragraphWhy do males not invest their fair share (50%) in the offspring?What allows males, but not females to produce millions of gametes every day?How can males, but not females begat a large number of children in a very short period of time?What begins ‘here’, i.e., with the difference in male and female gamete size?p. 143, middle paragraphWhy do males seem to be more expandable and females more valuable from a ‘good for the species’ point of view?p. 144, bottom of middle paragraphWhy is ‘strategy’ just a figure of speech in the context of Dawkins’ discussion?p. 146, top paragraphWhat kind of machine is a body?p. 146, middle paragraphWhat would be a desirable strategy for either sex?For which sex is it more difficult to achieve?Why is it harder to achieve for females?Why would it be an unsuccessful strategy for the female to exploit a father by abandoning him and leaving the offspring with him?What are additional ways, besides providing the larger gamete, in which females tend to invest more in the offspring than males and expose themselves to potential exploitation?p. 147, middle and bottom paragraphWhat are the examples of males ensuring that the offspring they provide for is genetically their own?p. 148, second full paragraphWhy is it unlikely for a female who has been abandoned by a male to abandon the offspring she is having with that male?p. 149, middle paragraphWhat is the strong card a female is holding that allows her to reduce the extent to which a male might exploit her?p. 149, bottom paragraphWhat is the domestic-bliss strategy?What role does female coyness play in the strategy?p. 150, first full paragraphWhat are the kinds of investments that a male waiting for a coy female is likely to make?p. 156, last paragraph – p. 157What is the he-man strategy?In pursuing this strategy, what do females resign themselves to?What is a he-man?p. 158, top paragraphWhat is the interesting point realized by Darwin about what is the best thing that a mother can do for her genes in a society in which males compete with each other to be chosen as he-man?p. 164, first full paragraphIn humans, what does the diversity of mating strategies and sexual partnership arrangements suggest about what determines the way of life of the human species?p. 164, bottom paragraphIn what sense is modern

western society anomalous?Question 11 ptsAccording to Dawkins, taking the perspective of a gene reveals that in sexual reproduction each partner,Group of answer choicesIs genuinely in love and willing to sacrifice themselves for the otherIs into it only for the bodily pleasure sex may affordIs trying to exploit the otherFlag question: Question 2Question 21 ptsDawkins suggests that all differences between the sexes can be interpreted as stemming from one basic difference, i.e.,Group of answer choicesThe difference in gamete size, with females providing the egg and males providing the spermThe difference in initiative, whereby a female taking the initiative in paradise was rewarded with biting into a pristine apple while a male lacking the initiative merely got to bite into the leftoversThe difference in origin, with females coming from Venus and males coming from MarsFlag question: Question 3Question 31 pts3. Dawkins proposes that the exploitation of females begins with,Group of answer choicesFemales being payed 25% less than males for doing the same workGirls being more likely to be asked to do household chores than boysFemales providing a larger gamete for the production of offspring than malesFlag question: Question 4Question 41 pts4. According to Dawkins, an organism’s body is,Group of answer choicesThe rather disappointing result of millions of years of evolutionThe pride of its ownerA machine, blindly programmed by its selfish genesFlag question: Question 5Question 51 pts5. As Dawkins sees it, females invest more in their offspring than males not only because they provide the larger gamete but also because,Group of answer choicesFemales think that males are hopeless cases and children are not, while males think that children are hopeless cases but females are notThey incubate the fetus in their own body, produce the milk to suckle the offspring after it is born, and bear the brunt of bringing the offspring up and protecting itThey are more likely to paint the walls of the nursery and buy expensive toysFlag question: Question 6Question 61 pts6. Some ways in which genes inhabiting male bodies may ensure that males will only invest in offspring that is biologically their own are,Group of answer choicesMales ordering paternity tests for their offspring at a rate 400% above that of femalesMales favoring male offspring because it looks more like them and discriminating against female offspring because it looks more like the motherMale mice secreting a chemical that will cause a female to abort any offspring by another male she may be pregnant with, male lions killing existing offspring that is not their own, and instituting a prologued courtship period before mating to see if a female may already be pregnantFlag question: Question 7Question 71 pts7. Dawkins proposes that females may employ a domestic-bliss strategy in order to identify a male mate,Group of answer choicesWho shows signs of being interested in stores like Home Depot and Lowes and is very likely to beautify home and gardenWho shows signs of domesticity and fidelity and is less likely to leave her after having impregnated herWho is unlikely to put up a fight, even when confronted with the most unreasonable demandsFlag question: Question 8Question 81 pts8. As Dawkins sees it, while waiting for a female to agree to mate with him, a male may make investments such as,Group of answer choicesBuying movie tickets, bouquets of flowers, and a nose hair trimmerBuilding a nest, feeding the female, and the time and energy to exclusively court this particular female instead of any othersRenting an X-Box and a Play Station to shorten the waitFlag question: Question 9Question 91 pts9. Dawkins suggests that females may also follow a he-man strategy in which females,Group of answer choicesPlay tough guy and threaten to beat up their male partner should he ever show the slightest sign of infidelityPretend that the ‘this-man’ whom they are interested in is merely a ‘he-man’ whom they are ignoringCarefully select the male promising the best genes based on externally visible clues and then mate with him without reservations, thus likely to resign themselves to having to rear the offspring without the help of the father who will move on to mate with the many other females who also find him attractiveFlag question: Question 10Question 101 pts10. Dawkins suggest that the diversity of mating strategies and sexual partnership arrangements among humans suggest that the way of life of the human species,Group of answer choicesIs largely determined by culture and not by genetic programmingReflects the food preferences of a species that likes its dishes spicy and diverseIs a mess compared to the straightforward rules in other species