The Meme Machine
TheMemeMachine1999
TheMemeMachine1999
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SEX IN THE MODERN WORLD 135<br />
Whether you look at this from a sociobiological perspective, or a memetic<br />
one, the outcome is similar. <strong>The</strong> successful practices (or successful memes) are<br />
those that provide the greatest genetic advantage in the given environment.<br />
<strong>The</strong> same is true for some widespread sexual taboos. Masturbation has been<br />
seen as dirty, disgusting, revolting, and as sapping your ‘vital energy’.<br />
Generations of boys have been brought up to believe that ‘playing with<br />
themselves’ will make them go blind, or give them warts, or make hair grow on<br />
the palms of their hands. Given that young men have a strong desire for sex,<br />
dissuading them from masturbation is likely to increase the amount of vaginal<br />
sex they will have, thereby increasing the number of their offspring to whom<br />
they can pass on the taboo (Lynch 1996). Lynch suggests a similar explanation<br />
for the success of the circumcision meme, because circumcision makes<br />
masturbation more difficult, but not vaginal sex.<br />
Interestingly, there are few, if any, taboos against female masturbation.<br />
Recent research shows that, though women masturbate less often than men,<br />
many masturbate once a week or more throughout most of their adult life (R. R.<br />
Baker 1996). <strong>The</strong> lack of a taboo makes sense because generally women cannot<br />
increase the number of their offspring by having more sex, so from this point of<br />
view it does not matter whether they masturbate or not.<br />
<strong>The</strong> taboo against homosexuality follows the same logic. Most homosexuals<br />
are at least partly bisexual and can, with strongly wielded taboos, be persuaded<br />
to marry and have children, to whom they still pass on the taboo. Similarly,<br />
taboos against any kind of sexual practice that does not involve insemination can<br />
spread, including those against using birth control. Taboos against adultery<br />
work rather differently. Brodie (1996) suggests that it is in every man’s genetic<br />
interest to persuade other men not to commit adultery while doing so<br />
themselves. Thus both the anti-adultery memes and hypocrisy spread together.<br />
Finally, there are many religions that make use of sex to spread themselves.<br />
A religion that promotes large families will, assuming vertical memetic<br />
transmission, produce more babies to grow up in that religion than one that<br />
promotes small families. Religious memes therefore become an important<br />
manipulator of genetic success. Catholicism’s taboo against birth control has<br />
been extremely effective in filling the world with millions of Catholics who<br />
bring up their children to believe that condoms and the pill are evil, and that God<br />
wants them to have as many children as possible.<br />
Note that I said ‘assuming vertical memetic transmission’. All the above