Matt Ridley

About the Author

MATT R I D L E Y is

the author of Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human; the critically acclaimed national bestseller Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23

Chapters; The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation; and the New York Times Notable Book The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. His books have been short-listed for six literary awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Formerly a scientist, journalist, and a national newspaper columnist, he is a visiting professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York and the chairman of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle, England:

THE RED QUEEN

Sex and the Evolution of

Human Nature

MATT RIDLEY

Perennial

An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers For Matthew

This book was first published in Great Britain in 1993 by Penguin Books Ltd: 1t is here reprinted by arrangement with Penguin Putnam.

THE RED QUEEN: Copyright © 1993 by Matt Ridley: All rights reserved: Printed in the United States of America: No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For information address Penguin Putnam, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014:

HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use: For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers 1nc., to East 53rd Street, New York, NY

10022:

First Perennial edition published 2003.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ridley, Matt.

The red queen : sex and the evolution of human nature / Matt Ridley.—1st Perennial ed:

p: cm.

Originally published: London: Viking, 1 993 : Includes bibliographical references and index: ISBN 0 - 06 -0 55 6 57-9

1: Human evolution. z. Social evolution: 3: Sex 1: Title: GN365.9•R53 2.003

599 . 93 '8 -dc21

2003 04335 6

04 05 o6 07 o8 09 RRD 12. 11 to 9 8

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ::: vii

Chapter 1 ::: HUMAN NATURE ::: I

Chapter 2 ::: THE•ENIGMA ::: 23

Chapter 3

::: THE POWER OF PARASITES ::: 53

Chapter 4 ::: GENETIC MUTINY AND GENDER ::: 89

Chapter 5

::: THE PEACOCK'S TALE ::: 129

Chapter 6 ::: POLYGAMY AND THE NATURE OF MEN ::: 171 Chapter 7 ::: MONOGAMY AND THE NATURE OF WOMEN ::: 209

Chapter 8 ::: SEXING THE MIND ::: 245

Chapter 9 ::: THE USES OF BEAUTY ::: 277

Chapter to ::: THE INTELLECTUAL CHESS GAME ::: 307

Epilogue ::: THE SELF-DOMESTICATED APE ::: 345

Notes ::: 351

Bibliography ::: 369

Index ::: 395

. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS