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Comment by Udo | Hacker News Reader

Of course rationally I know this is how the world really works, but somehow paragraphs like this one still manage to depress the hell out of me:

  women’s mate preferences reliably prioritize resource access. This preference 
  stems from the important role that mates’ resources have played in women’s 
  reproductive success. [...] news of a recession may therefore signal to women 
  that financially secure men —those able to invest resources in rearing 
  offspring— are becoming scarce.

Am I just a lone hopeless idealist or does anyone else share this feeling of profound disappointment in society, and the male-female dynamic in particular?

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It's not "society" that's failed. It's basic natural instinct kicking in. Many men prefer wider hips, large breasts, and youthful appearance. We can say all day that this comes down to taste but your inner caveman knows that she will be a healthy and providing mother.

  Many men prefer wider hips, large breasts, and youthful appearance.

If I don't, so does that mean I'm actively repressing my "inner caveman" or is it more of a hint that I'm secretly gay?

  We can say all day that this comes down to taste but your inner caveman 
  knows that she will be a healthy and providing mother.

We somehow presume that our movie-fueled fantasy of how a stereotypical caveman must think and behave is a biological dictate. I know from many, many conversations with other people that I'm probably the only person in the world thinking this, but nevertheless I feel compelled to repeat it here: it's worth considering that we know a lot less about very early human society than we care to admit (and even if we did know more: how did we decide this was the natural state which we should, nay, must aspire to regain?) and also it's worth noting that social norms have historically often been justified by invoking (some kind of) natural law.

But as I said, I know in the end it's me who's the odd one out, not society. It's the exact same thing when people talk about religion, I just don't have the "special knowledge" built in that everyone else has. It's all alien to me. :)

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