Peterson's 12 Rules For Life, have you heard of this?

[bennyboy]

Sure, I'm not saying women had no part in evolution, but I think he's overstating the case here. I'd be interested to say what our resident biologists have to say.

I'll be happy to be proven wrong!

I'd say the trick to understanding our evolution is simply to look at our current state as a species, and ask "How does this or that behavior contribute to genetic fitness?  How will it be a successful strategy for the promulgation of this person's genes?"

People often say that they aren't acting according to evolved instinct, "I'm not trying to be sexual, I just like this shade of red.  I just wear revealing clothes because they make me feel good about myself."  It may be true that's their experience of their behavior, but from an evolutionary perspective, it's just far too obvious that a woman is expressing evolved behaviors which necessarily improve her genetic fitness, and that the pleasure center in her brain is reinforcing her in that.

One thing to note is that genetic fitness is not necessarily a benefit to the individual's enjoyment. It may be, for example, that a very attractive woman, especially if she dresses certain ways, does have a higher chance of being raped. This is horrible for her enjoyment of life, but if it leads to offspring, it is still a win for her DNA, especially since those men who are most likely to rape her carry genes that will promulgate THAT behavior, as well as the physical capability (i.e. strength) of carrying it out.

A very interesting point in this regard is how parents treat their children. A very lusty man, upon having a daughter, will do everything in his power to treat her other than he treated his mate upon meeting her. He will put her on a pedestal, build her self-esteem, and groom her to be much more selective than her mother was. A very nice woman, upon having a son, may very well allow and excuse all forms of liberties he takes, with women and elsewise. Despite having spent much of her youth fighting off the advances of teenage and young adult horn dogs, she will be surprisingly understanding of her son's sexual adventures. Her "boys will be boys" attitude would hardly have been shared by her own father when she was dating. That's probably because she has an instinctive understanding-- her DNA will be expressed through the aggressive sexual behaviors of her son-- be it rape, disloyalty, or whatever.

Moralizing will have little effect on harassment for this reason: that the instincts tend to subvert the conscious intentions of all parties involved. It is only through VERY carefully thought-out controls, and through a real understanding of the evolutionary impulses that lead to behaviors, that actual solutions might be arrived at.