Prum indicates that while Charles Darwin made this argument in The Descent of Man, published in 1871, the concept was sidelined and forgotten and the notion of natural selection being the sole driver of evolution took over.

It was argued that sexual selection was based on recognition of markers of survival fitness, so that, for instance in birds, male ornamentation advertises superior health.

Prum's view of sexual selection helps to understand the development of homosexuality, monogamy, female orgasm, and capacity of sex outside of the fertile period.

David Dobbs indicates that Prum's view is controversial but that he makes his case with clarity, grace, and charm, namely that aesthetic courtship gives females sexual choice, autonomy and safety.

In this case, it seems to have created a bit of validation by wish fulfilment: Darwin's views on sexual selection, Prum says, have been 'laundered, re-tailored and cleaned-up for ideological purity'.

[7] Evolutionary biologists Gerald Borgia and Gregory Ball state that Prum misrepresents opposition of scientists to the model of runaway selection and that he fails to make a case for its ubiquity.