The sexy son hypothesis of evolutionary biology was first proposed by Ronald Fisher in 1930. It proposes that a female animal's optimal choice among potential mates is a male whose genes will produce male offspring with the best chance of reproductive success. In particular, the sexy son hypothesis implies that a potential mate's capacity as a caregiver or any other direct benefits the male can offer the female (e.g. nuptial gifts, good territory) are irrelevant to his value as the potential father of the female's offspring. What matters are her "sexy sons"' future breeding successes (like that of their promiscuous father) in creating large numbers of offspring carrying copies of the female's genes. This hypothesis has been researched in species such as the European pied flycatcher.
Read more about Sexy Son Hypothesis: Context, Sexual Conflict, Good Genes Theory, Sperm Models, Human Sexual Behavior
Famous quotes containing the words son and/or hypothesis:
“God’s Son went home. Among us it is whispered
He cried the tears of men.
Feeling, in fact,
We have no need of peace.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“It is more than likely that the brain itself is, in origin and development, only a sort of great clot of genital fluid held in suspense or reserved.... This hypothesis ... would explain the enormous content of the brain as a maker or presenter of images.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)