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The Significance of Secondary Sex Characteristics

By on February 2, 2016

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Written by Joseph Dunsay. After earning a Masters of Science in Ecology and Evolution, Joseph Dunsay became a science writer for international audiences. For more Jewrotica writing by Joseph, check out The Disadvantages of Polygyny Make Couples Choose Monogamy, The Scientific Opinion Regarding Gender Specific Brains is Mixed, The Roman Empire Left an Imprint on Jewish Genes, Teledildonics May Help Jewish Husbands Travel, and Madness and Humanity’s Gene Pool.

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Pubic hair on humans is a secondary sex characteristic, meaning it appears at puberty but does not directly contribute to reproduction. Scientist have multiple theories about the purpose of pubic hair. The leading theory says that pubic hair, and armpit hair, help pheromones evaporate after the body secretes them. These musky chemicals make their way through the air to a potential mate’s nose where they give him or her information about how genetically compatible you are.

Pubic hair and armpit hair aren’t the only secondary sex characteristics that humans grow at puberty. A beard appears as boy becomes a man. There are Jewish laws related to beards. The Torah forbids a man from shaving off specific parts of the beard and from shaving the face with a conventional razor. Maimonides said that the prohibition was given because ancient idol-worshipers used to shave. The third Chabad rebbe ruled that a man should not remove or trim his beard with any method because doing so is a form of cross-dressing. Jewish mystics also ascribed spiritual significance to beards.

Just as rabbis have diverse opinions regarding beards, so do experts in evolution. Evolutionists have different ideas about why beards evolved. In general, every trait that became the norm did so because it provides a net benefit to the organisms possessing that trait. Biologists look at how beards change the way people perceive men in order to infer what benefit beards provide. This research has lead to a couple of theories about the ultimate cause of beards.

According to an Australian source, men evolved coarse hair on their faces and chests to become more attractive to women, or women’s hairs in those areas became thin and unnoticeable so that men would want to mate with them. Men have higher testosterone levels than do women and boys. This testosterone makes hair follicles on the face thicker so that they can produce coarse beard hairs. This is why men can grow beards while women and boys cannot.

Another article suggests that men evolved beards to signal an ability to dominate other men. This theory is based on data suggesting that women don’t find men with beards more appealing and that both men and women rate men with beards as more mature, more aggressive, and possessing a higher social standing. If true, a man’s beard is a way of telling other men that they better not mess with him.

Depending on whom you ask, a beard can make a man look sexy or intimidating. Growing it can be a way to follow halacha, to reject gentile practices, or to remind oneself of mystical attributes. An electric razor that brings two blades together can trim a beard so close that the face appears smooth. British women are having fun shaving or growing their pubic hairs to suit their preferences. Jewish men might want to experiment styling their own secondary sex characteristics both above the belt, and below.

After earning a Masters of Science in Ecology and Evolution, Joseph Dunsay became a science writer for international audiences. His LGBT erotic e-book launched in the summer of 2015.
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