Why such a lack of bird decorum? Is the male peacock relying on the rump presentation as a sexual stimulant, as many primate species do, the most dramatic example being the baboon? Not so, reason Amotz and Avishag Zahavi, in their wonderful
Lest you think that humans have evolved beyond the need to provoke and tease in intimate affairs, consider this exchange between two of literature’s great lovers, Beatrice and Benedick from Shakespeare’s
BENEDICK
And, I pray thee now tell me, for which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?
BEATRICE
For them all together, which maintain’d so politic a state of evil that they will not admit any good part to intermingle with them. But for which of my good parts did you first suffer love for me?
BENEDICK
Suffer love! A good epithet! I do suffer love indeed, for I love thee against my will.
BEATRICE
In spite of your heart, I think. Alas, poor heart, if you spite it for my sake, I will spite it for yours, for I will never love that which my friend hates.
BENEDICK
Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.
The importance of provocation and teasing in our social evolution is suggested by how pervasive teasing is in the animal world. Chimpanzees dangle their tails, tickling noses and eyes, to provoke response in slumbering or distracted chimps nearby. African hunting dogs and dwarf mongooses jump all over each other in piles of playful provocation prior to a hunt, much like pad-slapping football players moments before the kickoff, provoking readiness to attack and defend. In humans, mothers will pull their breast away from weaning babes as they pucker up for a drink. Adults will play hide the face, peekaboo games to stir a sulking child. Teenage girls and boys resort to hostile nicknames and outlandishly gendered imitations to assess the romantic leanings and sexual experiences of their friends. Sexual insults are as reliable an occurrence in human social life as food sharing, greeting gestures, patterns of comfort, flirtation, and the expression of gratitude.
Teasing has long occupied a problematic place in Western culture. In Roman times, law prohibited