Would ignorance of sexual preference of the opposing sex have any evolutionary benefit?
Not sure if this would fit more in "Evolutionary Anthropology", but here it goes:
It seems to me, based on observations of my internet bubble, that knowledge of what the opposite sex find attractive, and therefore what habits, posture, grooming and other rituals one should do to be sexually attractive, is not known naturally by the opposite sex. (I'd like to keep this simple and only consider heterosexuality, unless it would be illuminating otherwise)
Examples:
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Women don't know what "body type" Men find attractive, even considering the fact that different men have different preferences, they don't know what their partner actually like and would get episodes of body dismorphia, unless explicitely stated that they are actually found to be attractive, and it is a meme that this affirmation may not be taken seriously.
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Also elevated to being a meme, Men are comically unaware of the signals Women send when they find the men to be attractive, miscommunication arises, the man is not aware he is being flirted upon, and the woman's advances are rejected, unaware that the failure was due to the "subtle hints" not being recognized.
Is this situation common place among any other species? Is this situation only particular to my subsection of humanity (are hunter gatherers not bothered by this)? Could it have an evolutionary explanation?
My reasoning is that all animals seem to know what to do to procreate, and they seem to do just fine, why is human dating different?
Posted May 7, 2025, 2:43 PM UTC