Sperm Wars

October 2, 1996
The major force in the shaping of human sexuality, claims British biologist Baker in this highly unorthodox study, is "sperm warfare," the competition among sperm from two or more men competing inside a woman to fertilize the egg. In this theory, biological imperatives shaped by evolution dictate sexual behavior. Male sexual behavior is driven by each man's need to prevent his female sexual partner from exposing his sperm to competition; or, failing that, to give his sperm the best chance of winning. A woman's sexual behavior, meanwhile, reflects her urge to maneuver her partner or to influence which male's sperm will have the best chance of succeeding. Baker views infidelity, group sex, partner-swapping, even rape and prostitution as risky strategies that nevertheless may enhance an individual's reproductive success compared with long-term monogamy. Men, he says, pursue four reproductive strategies: bisexuality, pursuit or avoidance of sperm warfare and a balancing of this pursuit/avoidance. Just which strategy a male is programmed to adopt will depend largely on his rate of sperm production. Baker's treatise unfolds as a series of graphic, fictional sex scenes, each followed by interpretive commentary. Its reliance on evolutionary biology to explain human behavior is reductionist, much in the manner of the writings of "selfish gene" proponent Richard Dawkins, but it is also challenging, intellectually provocative and likely to raise considerable and deserved debate.

November 1, 1996
Baker is a biologist who studies human behavior, in this case sex, in intimate detail. The questions that interest him--"Why do men inseminate enough sperm at each intercourse to fertilize the entire population of the United States, twice over?"--are certainly curiosities. Most of the explicit sexual scenarios Baker reviews with his evolutionary eye are recognizable but seem abnormal and gratuitous. Given the lack of citations to other academic work, the book ends up being little more than elegant, sexually explicit intellectual musings on a subject that is likely to titillate and embarrass. Suggested theories explaining the evolutionary value of masturbation and homosexuality are vaguely compelling, but without the intellectual framework of cited works, it is difficult to take this book seriously. Without a carefully cited bibliography to accompany the text, this cannot be recommended for the general public.--Constance A. Rinaldo, Dartmouth Coll. Biomedical Libs., Hanover, N.H.

October 1, 1996
Tabloid talk shows will no doubt line up to interview Baker, a University of Manchester biology lecturer who explains most human sexual behavior as (cellular level) warfare: a male drive "either to prevent the woman from exposing his sperm to competition or, failing that, to give his sperm the best chance of winning that competition," and a female urge to promote competition to "better the chances of her offspring having good genes." Baker's biological determinism is familiar, but the scientific details he supplies will enlighten many readers. Baker's rather sensational technique for popularizing academic research--explicit sexual "scenes" introduce sections on several dozen specific sexual behaviors--seems likely to build his book's visibility and bookstore sales but will not necessarily make his evolutionary argument more convincing. Not essential, but appropriate where popular science (particularly regarding sex!) circulates. ((Reviewed Oct. 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)