Promiscuity in Evolution

Author Christopher Ryan invites the audience to re-examine the idea of monogamy in his modern relationships speech. Ryan attempts to change the audience's perception of today's modern relationships, that human beings are sexual omnivores by nature. Throughout the his talk, Ryan theorizes that this change in perception can eliminate discrimination and unrealistic expectations that often lead to failed relationships.

In Ryan's modern relationships speech, he tells the audience that humans are more closely related to chimps and the bonobo in terms of human behavior. The standard narrative of human sexual evolution or human nature is men's lease of the women's reproductive potential, exchanging it for goods and services including meat, protection, shelter and status. And in exchange, women offer the promise of fidelity.