HUMAN FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY AND SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR

This report presents evidence that sexual selection may favor developmental stability (i.e., the absence of fluctuating asymmetry) in humans. Subtle, heritable asymmetries in seven nonfacial human body traits correlated negatively with number of self-reported, lifetime sex partners and correlated positively with self-reported age at first copulation in a college student sample. These relationships remained statistically significant when age, marital status, body height, ethnicity, physical anomalies associated with early prenatal development, and physical attractiveness were statistically controlled. The strength of the relationships did not differ significantly as a function of sex. It is unlikely that the relationships are generated by false self-reporting of sexual experience.