Theories in evolutionary psychology
In his book Sperm Wars, Robin Baker speculated that the excitement and stimulation of the cuckolding fetish emerges from the biology of sexuality and the effects of sexual arousal on the brain. According to his theory, when a male believes that his female mate may have been sexual with another male, the male mate is prompted by biological urges to copulate with the female, in an effort to "compete" with the other males' sperm. The effects of sperm competition are well documented.[6] Further, when initiating sex, the male mate thrusts harder, deeper and longer, in efforts to remove the sperm of the other male, and is biologically driven to have sex multiple times. While he may be unable to have sex more than once under usual circumstances, the cuckolded male is prone to repeated sexual efforts. Meanwhile, the wife enjoys greater sexual stimulation, first by her other male lover and second by her cuckolded husband. In addition, the wife enjoys the neurochemical "highs" triggered by entering into a romantic or physical relationship with another lover. These highs include the effects ofoxytocin and other neurochemicals which trigger excitement, euphoria and other feelings common to the beginnings of romantic relationships. These neurochemicals change over time, and as a relationship persists, with neurochemicals changing to ones that promote bonding, planning and nurturing. When a wife takes a new lover, she triggers the neurochemicals of a new relationship, bringing home excitement to her husband.[7]
The above exposition is contraindicated by the hypothesized foundations for jealousy in evolutionary psychology, which is rooted in the idea that men specifically will react jealously to sexual infidelity on the parts of their mates [8]. Far more often than being sexually aroused, extreme and enduring anger to the point of committing a crime of passion is documented by partners finding their spouse's infidelity. These crimes even lead to the social and legal permissibility inherent in the concept of a crime of passion, whereby culpability and legal punishment is reduced, sometimes even anulled entirely, due to the extenuating circumstances of what is construed as a natural response to an outraging stimulus. The popularity of the cuckold fetish actually calls into question the universality of this evolutionary interpretation and theory, suggesting that differential responses to jealousy are possible, and perhaps even adaptive. One theory suggests that some men may accept a Hobbsian bargain, accepting that their wives will be unfaithful, in order for a lesser male to secure a female mate of higher evolutionary value than he could have, if he required and enforced sexual fidelity.[9]
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