Oh! Sex! Danger!
Sex and danger. Sex and danger. Hello, blog. We haven't spoken in a while. The expository juices, they seemed to stop flowing for a while in a mental menopause of sorts. Thankfully it was only temporary - the moisture has returned to the loins of my mind.
So, sex and danger.
By now everyone should be aware that North Korea has conducted its first nuclear test (albeit a fizzle). In the aftermath of this event, amusingly enough, condom sales surged in South Korea. As did occupancy rates at love hotels.
Amusing, but perhaps not surprising. Word has it that in the days following the 9/11 attacks on the world trade center, there was much having of booty. I'd provide a link to back this up, but for two hindrances: 1 - web searches for subjects which brush upon sexuality are usually unfruitful (and terrifying, sometimes), even if you include the term "massacre". Whoda thunk. 2 - I certainly didn't get any, so I can't confirm it myself. But back to the subject at hand: apparently the "oh god, I might not be alive tomorrow, I'd better get some today" reaction to perceived threat actually makes sense, according to research published recently.
In extremely hazardous situations, where good parenting is unlikely to improve their offspring’s chances of survival, parents would do better to shift the focus of their reproductive efforts from childcare to mating, the theory says. Switching their energy resources to either mating effort to produce additional offspring, or even self-preservation (to enhance their fitness) would increase the chance that their genes will survive.
Perhaps it's natural. Perhaps it's an age-old instinct that whispers to us that under certain circumstances, it's better to produce more numerous offspring than to nurture fewer offspring. Certainly the thought of nuclear annihilation qualifies as "circumstances under which survival rates are reduced". All I can say is this: the next time a major threat to many lives is heavily covered by mass-media, I'd better get some.
PS: the other (serious) side to the issue is that fearmongering is detrimental to society, and will result in more babies and less parenting.