Nadler R D
Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1988;528:154-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1988.tb42068.x.
Species-typical frequencies of copulation during the menstrual cycle differ among common chimpanzee, orang-utan, and gorilla, but all three species exhibit a midcycle enhancement associated with estrus. Thus, in the natural habitat, chimpanzees mate for 10-14 days, orang-utans for 5-6 days, and gorillas for 2-3 days. In traditional laboratory pair-tests, however, conducted in a single cage with both animals freely accessible to each other, all three species of great apes copulate more frequently than the species-typical pattern. In all three species, moreover, the increased copulation appears to result from increased male sexual initiative (aggression), male dominance over females, and the inability of the female to avoid or escape from the male within the limited spatial conditions of the free-access test. This interpretation is supported by studies using restricted-access tests in which females control sexual access. These data suggest that male sexual aggression in our closest biological affiliates commonly occurs when females are rendered vulnerable to the male by the absence of the normal social constraints and spatial prerogatives typical of the natural habitat. The possible implications of this interpretation for a biological perspective on human sexual aggression are considered.
普通黑猩猩、猩猩和大猩猩在月经周期中的典型交配频率各不相同，但这三个物种都表现出与发情期相关的周期中期交配频率增加。因此，在自然栖息地中，黑猩猩交配10至14天，猩猩交配5至6天，大猩猩交配2至3天。然而，在传统的实验室配对测试中，将两只动物放置在一个笼子里，彼此可以自由接触，这三种大猩猩的交配频率都高于其物种典型模式。此外，在这三个物种中，交配增加似乎是由于雄性性主动性增强（攻击性）、雄性对雌性的支配以及在自由接触测试的有限空间条件下雌性无法躲避或逃离雄性所致。使用限制接触测试（即雌性控制性接触）的研究支持了这一解释。这些数据表明，在我们最亲近的生物亲属中，当雌性因缺乏自然栖息地典型的正常社会约束和空间特权而容易受到雄性攻击时，雄性性侵犯通常就会发生。本文还考虑了这一解释对从生物学角度看待人类性侵犯可能产生的影响。
