spocksbro

I could have done without the too-cute asides and double entendres but there is a serious point to this celebration of genitalia and that is:

[S]tudying the evolution of genitalia has provided us with deep insights and spectacular panoramas on the history of life....

 

Somewhere in the deep folds of time, sex arose as a means to outrun fast-evolving viruses or help fix errors in the genetic code. Then a bacterium crawled into a primordial cell. To counter combat among cohabiting bacteria, separate male and female sexes, producing different sex cells...appeared. Rather than scattering these sex cells randomly...some organisms began packaging them...setting the stage for sexual selection...and giving us the bewildering array of form and function that we see today....

 

[G]enital evolution may also be the driving force for the origin of new species. If it is true that male genitalia are constantly evolving t adapt to female genitalia, and vice versa, then this dual adaptation could cause...speciation events....

 

And while I would not imply that the evolution of genitalia is the wedge driven between us and our primate brethren, it certainly has played it part in paving the evolutionary paths that these species have traveled.... (pp. 187-88)

It's too short for the topic it addresses (esp. the role of homosexuality in sexual selection) but it's interesting and the author gives a decent bibliography and annotations for those who want to get into more specialized literature.