How we relate to each other in most intimate terms has implications for the planet
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The evolution of sexual behavior in animals and plants has remarkable implications for sustainability. An effort has been made by researchers to develop a biological Tree of Sex similar to the taxonomy for a Tree of Life which is more familiar to students of biology — albeit contentiously. The project published a series of notable papers which covered the range of organismal sexual habits from physical fusion of parasitic tapeworm mates to promiscuity of bonobos. It was a remarkable effort to consider whether order could be found in the context of eukaryotic organisms and their sexual reproductive evolution. Yet humans and other advanced animals have evolved complex forms signaling in reproductive behavior that have major consequences for how we impact planetary order.
Until the advent of the Neolithic revolution around 12,000 years ago, anthropologists believe humans were promiscuous and due to high mortality rates, there was little thought given to population impacts of their sexual habits. The dominant order of monogamy arose when we learned to settle in agrarian societies and build villages and cities. Monogamy provided an advantage for social order around property rights, although it may well have also had positive value for nurturing of progeny. Yet social norms have continued to evolve around sex and gender and how to manage the impact of our individual intimate decisions on the future of the communities where we live.
The French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, who wrote a momentous book titled Structural Anthropology in 1937, considered the role patterns and structures in cultural forms. For him, notions such as language, gender identity, sexual morals, and, more broadly, any culture were products of the mind. Since human beings fundamentally had the same brain biology, there were likely underlying structures that permeated these more abstruse manifestations of human behavior as well. Therefore, a seminal contribution that emanated from his work was the assertion that no cultural ascendance should be claimed by what were previously categorized as “civilized” cultures over “savage cultures.” He also analyzed genders across cultures and found that although the dualism of binary opposites was dominant there were always some “mediators” created by the mind to find complementarity between nature and culture.
Among the most persistent ways in which social order has been maintained in human societies is through notions of gender roles that often manifest themselves in patriarchy or matriarchy. Modern society has disavowed many of the presumed structures of gender and culture. The impact of this liberation from cultural norms on human sustainability remains contested and often anecdotal evidence is presented by either side of the debate. The “breakdown of the family” is presented as a reason for rampant individualism which has implications on how and where we live. Co-habitation with tight social units is clearly a vital way to reduce our environmental impact as was observed during COVID.
From a sustainability perspective, cultural evolution around the empowerment of women, and the acceptance that procreation was not a fundamental purpose of having a family, has had ambivalent outcomes for human sustainability. The concerns we had around uncontrolled population growth and its environmental impact in the 1960s have largely abated, though lifespan increase and the scientific potential for reversing ageing could upend such assumptions. The impact of sexual behavior can be controlled medically in so many different ways. Yet, the potential for localized decline in population in many affluent countries poses challenges for economic vitality of many countries, particularly South Korea. Tribalism prevents us from allowing migration across lands with higher population to those with lower population in playing an equalizing role. Indeed, differences in norms around gender are also used as a justification for limiting migration from many Muslim countries.
The culture wars around sexual and gender identities, as well as around the right to abort a pregnancy, remain unresolved. Such social conflicts have taken on a more acute tone in the current political climate in the United States. Perhaps if we considered the broader implications for planetary sustainability of the choices we make in terms of sexual behavior as well as our perception of gender identities, there would be less friction in our dealings with one another. A recognition of the value of procreation and the importance of parenting, while also respecting the decisions of individuals to not follow conventional norms can coexist in a society of our scale.
The relationship between sexual behavior, gender identities and population growth deserves careful and dynamic research, which should be regularly updated. Incentives for procreation or migration can modulate our policy responses once we have more universal norms around fundamental human rights. There is clear evidence that preventing discrimination by gender identity and having a more inclusive workforce improves livelihood and economic development outcomes. We are fortunate to live in times when the tools exist to engage in such long-term planning that links our individual behavior and sexual preferences to the long-term viability of our species.
