So, there's a concept of "ick factor", which describes a feeling of instant, instinctual disgust towards someone who has had many sexual partners. (Most often I've seen it used by men towards women)

My question is; if you believe that people can experience a raw, primal feeling of revulsion towards someone, solely due to the number of sexual partners that someone has had in the past... where do you think this feeling comes from?

Some people (especially some men) claim that it's an evolutionary function of wanting to steer clear of disease (and that it's more or less subconscious).

Other people (especially some women) claim that it's a men's attempt of controlling women's sexuality (and that it's more or less conscious).

The issue I have with "evolution argument" is; sometimes our beliefs - that come from generations and generations beforehand - are so deeply embedded and ingrained in us, and the feelings that arise from those convictions are so powerful, and feel so primal; that we cannot distinguish between what is a "natural emotion" (repulsion) and what is a "socially ingrained thought" (aversion). (What comes to mind here is especially the effects of Christianity)

The issue I have with the "socially ingrained" argument, on the other hand, is; what about jealousy, for instance? Yes, jealousy is essentially about posessiveness; but if it's culturally ingrained and a result of "patriarchy"; why do women experience jealousy JUST as much as guys do? And since jealousy can feel literally like a stab in the heart, a punch to the stomach or a fire in the lungs; do you really believe it's reasonable to assume that jealousy is just a result of, for instance, having been raised by a prudish, die-hard-conservative father?

I personally don't think it's either one or the other, or that it's even always possible to distinguish "cultural" from "evolutionary"; because even neanderthals had their own "culture", basically, and it's been "there" for so long that it's "ingrained in our bones" so to speak.

Thoughts?