Food and Seduction

Eating. So closely linked to sex and courtship. How? Well, before we start, we’ll give thanks that we’re not part of the praying mantis family. If, like them, we bit off the heads of every man we mated with, we’d be a bunch of praying singles, except we’d know where all the good ones went. But I digress.

If you’ve ever wondered why eating plays such a big role in romance, let’s take a page from anthropology and look at its function. Robin Fox in her article “Food and Eating: An Anthropological Perspective” suggests, “… the equation of good food, good sex, and emotional security taps very deep motives lodged in the basic mammalian search for reproductive success.”
1. Food and sex are closely linked in the limbic system in the brain (controlling emotional activity). Therefore good food is equal to good sex.

2. Food plus sex equals offspring that are well provided for. So, on an evolutionary level, men who provide food tap a primal instinct to mate, as they are likely able to provide for us while we are full up with caring for an infant. It shows us he’s “investing” in us.

2a. Therefore: A man with strong resources is preferable to a, say, very handsome mate. For men, Fox finds, on this primal level it’s all about looks.

3. The “meeting the parents” meal is a ceremony that indicates your relationship is moving to next level. It’s a chance for both parties to assess each other and add some DW40 to the newly cast gears of social intercourse.
4. The Romantic Dinner is a common form of therapy for couples. (Perhaps harkening back to courtship days; a reminder that your intentions are still in the same place.)