> > Personally, I think we should use other species in the animal kingdom as examples, adopting *their* ways of flirting, freeing up the pursuit of simple conversation, with flair or without, to be unambiguously free of ulterior motives.
> >
> > For instance, when many mammals flirt, they put their colorful coats on display. So we wear vibrant, multicolored clothing. We can puff ourselves up and strut around, too. "Look at my copious cheek pockets!" would be a pick-up line of choice, spoken, of course, while flexing muscles and shimmying around the room in a mating dance.
>
> Awww. Traditional courtship rituals based along avian mating patterns... This is an even better idea than you can imagine, because it would really even up the score. Just think, humans happen to be one of those species which exhibits sëxual dimorphism, i.e. females look physically different than males. So human women often spend an hour or more every morning making themselves "look better" because the western world expects it. However, in the avian world, it's the MALES who always have to dress up and preen to successfully cozy up to the girls. The girl birds, of course, look rather drab but the way it goes, nobody cares.
>
> So if we adopted Sam's official courtship proposal, every time a guy felt the urge to mate he would have to make his intentions utterly plain -- first he'd dress up in fluorescent cummerbund and slacks. Then add eyeliner and lipstick, put on perfume, pluck out parts of his beard, shave off every scrap of visible body hair (wicked. I'd really dig that part), have his body pierced in strategic areas so he can wear colorful shiny baubles, etc. Oh, this is just too much, I'm all choked up with admiration. Anyone else think this is a perfectly splendid idea?
>
> Wolfie

Don't guys do this (dress up, comb hair, smell nice, get a tan, work out, etc.) to some extent?

Personally, I find it more intriuging why most people I know would find this utterly revolting.

julian