I don't know about you RobHammer, but I've got plenty of hair. Maybe we don't have as much compared to some mammals, but hey, we've got way more than a whale does. Or how about the naked mole rat? As far as pubic and underarm hair goes, the consensus is that hair is thicker there because it helps prevent chafing.

Truthfully though, who can say why? Asking the why of a million years of evolution is a little tricky. You should bear in mind that the law of unforeseen consequences operates even in evolution. Thus, some physical characteristics may simply be riders on an evolutionary change that benefited humans, not benefits in and of themselves.

I'm not following you on the 'male gaze' thing. If you mean why do men look at women, I assume it's because humans aren't really monogamous, much as society might wish otherwise. Since it takes two to tango, the women must be checking us out too, don't you think?

If tits were only used for feeding babies men wouldn't be so interested in them. They obviously signal something sexual/reproductive as well, if only "your baby won't starve with these around!" Why do women keep their mammary glands for life? If we adhere to the grandmother theory of menopause, then breasts can be effective even for grannies, no?

As for why we hate the way we smell, probably because we weren't designed for such close quarters. It's one thing to stink when you're neighbor's 20 yards away, or huddled around a fire that's blowing smoke up your nose; it's another when he's right next to you on the bus.

Do I know any of this for a fact? Well, only that we're mammals, that's simply by definition. The rest is 100% pure who-the-fuck-knows?

Edited by - hardware on 6/6/2003 10:03:16 AM

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It is a widely held theory that early man may well have hunted by simply 'running down' animals over a period of hours. This is said to account for our remarkable endurance capabilities which coupled with our teamwork skills and water carrying ability means we can run down deer/gazelle/antelope with remarkable success (indeed, a tribe still exists in Africa who hunt by just this method).
My fathers theory is that the last thing such a hunter wants is a thick coat of body hair. Couple this fact with successful hunters likely earning more breeding opportunities and the large variation in hairiness amongst modern humans and such an evolutionary step could well be made in very few generations.

SNP.

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