The Homosexual Matrix the most novel account of the way in which behavioral expression communicates internal states since Charles Darwin's "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals" (1872), but considered his most original contribution to be his explanation of how erotic feeling depends on "resistance", which might consist of any of several impediments to easy access to sexual satisfaction. Begelman called Tripp a skillful writer who was learned on the subject of homosexuality, but whose objectivity was nevertheless open to question. Karlen wrote that Tripp made numerous unjustified claims, such as that homosexual men tend to have a larger than average
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex to the forces of sexual selection. While debates on the subject continues, in January 1871 Darwin started on another book, using left over material on emotional expressions, which became "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals". In recent years controversy also involved the peacock tail, the most famous symbol of the principle of sexual selection. A seven-year Japanese study of free-ranging peafowl came to the conclusion that female peafowl do not select mates merely on the basis of their trains. Mariko Takahashi found no evidence that peahens expressed any preference for peacocks with more elaborate trains, such as