Sex and Death

An exploration of the contradictory functions of death and sex indicates the existence of several biological dimensions, including the evolution of sex itself, excess mortality of males, reproductive differences that relate to survival, health benefits of sex, and negative health risks associated with sex. In addition, there are cultural elements, such as survival after spousal death, “terror sex” as a coping mechanism to interpersonal threats, sex after physical death, reproduction after death, and concepts related to sex in the afterlife. Although it is difficult to state with certainty that the relationship between sex and death is causal, casual, or coincidental, Thomas Lynch, a contemporary American funeral director and author, suggests that both sex and death leave you wide-eyed, out of breath, are horizontal mysteries, and both are over before you know it. In the following entry, the intersection, interrelationship, and independence of sex and [Page 863]death in light of evolving cultural, technical, and biological myths and realities are explored.

Evolution of Sex and Death

In 2006, The New Scientist published a list titled “Top 10: Life's Greatest Inventions”; sex and death were ranked 6 and 7 on that list. From a biological perspective, sex requires sacrifice in terms of effort, energy, time, risk of injury, and the risk of not finding a mate. But above all, sexual reproduction requires that an individual reduce their contribution to a subsequent generation by half, compared with those who reproduce by cloning or through asexual means. However, regardless of the evolutionary payoff for sexual reproduction, one outcome is most important, namely, it is only with the evolution of sex that death becomes inevitable. Single-celled organisms that reproduced asexually were essentially immortal because exact copies of themselves survived over time. Death, from this perspective, is necessary because of sex.

In human communities, there is a significant sexual divide to mortality and morbidity. The fact that in developed societies, females outlive males by five years on average has significant demographic, biological, and social consequences. The sex of an individual is the most important demographic factor that predicts early mortality. Males may be greater risk takers, but simple risk taking does not fully explain all the mortality differences between males and females. Also biologically, male fetuses are significantly more likely than female fetuses to experience complications and death. That same trend continues after birth and leads to differential male mortality rates.

Why Can't a Man Be More like a Women

A study of eunuchs, males who had been castrated before puberty, showed an exception to the general rule of females outliving males and demonstrated that those eunuchs lived a remarkable 12 years longer, on average, than males with intact testes. Male aggressiveness and competition for reproductive success is partially controlled by the production of the hormone testosterone, a hormone that is produced in the testes and is, thereby, greatly reduced in castrated males. Male reproductive success and aggressive behavior come with a significant price: reduced longevity. Menstruating and pregnant females, on the other hand, produce significant increased amounts of the hormone estrogen that acts to protect the female heart against oxidative damage and age-related telomere attrition. This monthly massive increase in the hormone estrogen has been labeled the “jogging female heart” effect and helps explain a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease in females before menopause. The health advantage to females is significant; males have a mortality rate from cardiovascular risks that is five times higher, and their morbidity is three times higher than comparableaged females.

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