The most common conception of evolution is that the hardiest survive. Darwin proposed another type of competition–that for mates within a species. When competing for mating partners the ability to find the right match and display your wares become important forces shaping the evolution of physiology, chemistry, and the brain. This talk explores the science of sexual selection in humans. Sexual selection has been well established in animal species for half a century, but the ability to study it in humans is relatively recent. Using the documentary The Science of Sex Appeal as a scaffold, this talk helps us update Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
