Female Supremacy Articles - Page 26

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The various current theories about why males evolved and still remain in existence are nicely set out in Matt Ridley's book ‘The Red Queen’.3 They are also covered in Olivia Judson's racy and wonderfully informative book ‘Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation’.4 Different theories rejoice in names like Muller's ratchet, Kondrashov's hatchet, and the eponymous red queen of Ridley's book (named after the character in Alice in Wonderland who perpetually runs without getting very far because the landscape moves with her). This last theory seems to be the front runner at the moment. It is based on W.D. Hamilton's idea that sex is part of a continual race to outwit external pathogens.