cerephinna

Some studies have shown menstrual synchronicity in groups of women. One experiment, by Penn State physician Robert Heinbach, showed that the pheromones that were released by premenstrual women triggered the release of an ovulation-stimulating hormone in other women around them - effectively showing a correlation between pheromones and ovulation, which could indicate that there is evidence for menstrual synchronicity.

Maybe we're not as far-removed from the animal kingdom as we might like to believe. A lot of our instinctive behavior seems to be with mating as the ultimate goal. In the majority, we buy fashionable clothes, makeup and perfume, exercise and eat well, conform with social niceties - all with the ultimate aim of attracting a mate. Even those who don't want a long term partner still want to have sex, and sex is intended to cause reproduction. The undeniable, inbuilt urge to have an orgasm is what keeps our societies rolling along the way they do (I recognize that there are exceptions to this - I'm talking about the human race as an entire species. And no, I'm not a human biologist, just a spectator theorizing about why certain events take place.).

Menstrual synchronicity must somehow fit into the mating and reproduction pattern and perhaps this is the root cause for why there is always rivalry in a large group of females. Those who view themselves as the alpha females want to rule the group, however chances are that there is always going to be more than one alpha female in such a group. Those who see themselves as prime mating material will want to oust those that they see as lower quality mating material - in case, somehow, the 'plain girl' manage to score before the 'hot girl' does. For whatever reasons - there are reproduction-based rivalries which are pretty much unavoidable as we've evolved in this way.

This biological setup must be working, as 1/4 of a million humans are added to the world population each day (ref. a recent Cornell University study on population size). This means that the world population is projected to be 15 billion by 2100, with possibly disastrous consequences. Governments may potentially need to introduce limits on how many children a family can have in order to avoid a situation where massive over-population could have consequences such as accelerated use of fuels and water and possibly worldwide famine conditions (obviously not taking into account a possible 'Haves Vs Have-nots' scenario where the rich will have whatever they want and everyone else will struggle).

I started writing this rambling stream of consciousness with the sole purpose of trying to work out why there is always bitching and cliques wherever there are groups of women, but have now come to a depressing realization that the bitching and cliques are just a symptom of something much more disastrous. Something that we've evolved with and trying to change it would be like trying to change your own DNA.

To quote Philip Larkin:

Man hands on misery to man,
It deepens like a coastal shelf,
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.