Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans
Sexual conflict theory has been successfully applied to predict how in non-human animal populations, sex ratios can lead to conflicting reproductive interests of females and males and affect their bargaining positions in resolving such conflicts of interests. Recently this theory has been extended t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Human Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X24000033/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827341420722126848 |
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| author | Renée V. Hagen Brooke A. Scelza |
| author_facet | Renée V. Hagen Brooke A. Scelza |
| author_sort | Renée V. Hagen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sexual conflict theory has been successfully applied to predict how in non-human animal populations, sex ratios can lead to conflicting reproductive interests of females and males and affect their bargaining positions in resolving such conflicts of interests. Recently this theory has been extended to understand the resolution of sexual conflict in humans, but with mixed success. We argue that an underappreciation of the complex relationship between gender norms and sex ratios has hampered a successful understanding of sexual conflict in humans. In this paper, we review and expand upon existing theory to increase its applicability to humans, where gender norms regulate sex ratio effects on sexual conflict. Gender norms constrain who is on the marriage market and how they are valued, and may affect reproductive decision-making power. Gender norms can also directly affect sex ratios, and we hypothesize that they structure how individuals respond to market value gained or lost through biased sex ratios. Importantly, gender norms are in part a product of women's and men's sometimes conflicting reproductive interests, but these norms are also subject to other evolutionary processes. An integration of sexual conflict theory and cultural evolutionary theory is required to allow for a full understanding of sexual conflict in humans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:40:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af6aa0b2fbab48fa975b1e8879d599d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2513-843X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T21:40:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Human Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-af6aa0b2fbab48fa975b1e8879d599d12024-02-26T09:28:31ZengCambridge University PressEvolutionary Human Sciences2513-843X2024-01-01610.1017/ehs.2024.3Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humansRenée V. Hagen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3956-2209Brooke A. Scelza1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5875-8875Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles. United States of AmericaDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles. United States of AmericaSexual conflict theory has been successfully applied to predict how in non-human animal populations, sex ratios can lead to conflicting reproductive interests of females and males and affect their bargaining positions in resolving such conflicts of interests. Recently this theory has been extended to understand the resolution of sexual conflict in humans, but with mixed success. We argue that an underappreciation of the complex relationship between gender norms and sex ratios has hampered a successful understanding of sexual conflict in humans. In this paper, we review and expand upon existing theory to increase its applicability to humans, where gender norms regulate sex ratio effects on sexual conflict. Gender norms constrain who is on the marriage market and how they are valued, and may affect reproductive decision-making power. Gender norms can also directly affect sex ratios, and we hypothesize that they structure how individuals respond to market value gained or lost through biased sex ratios. Importantly, gender norms are in part a product of women's and men's sometimes conflicting reproductive interests, but these norms are also subject to other evolutionary processes. An integration of sexual conflict theory and cultural evolutionary theory is required to allow for a full understanding of sexual conflict in humans.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X24000033/type/journal_articlegendered conflictbargainingsex ratiogender ideologygender norms |
| spellingShingle | Renée V. Hagen Brooke A. Scelza Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans Evolutionary Human Sciences gendered conflict bargaining sex ratio gender ideology gender norms |
| title | Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans |
| title_full | Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans |
| title_fullStr | Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans |
| title_short | Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans |
| title_sort | sex ratios and gender norms why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans |
| topic | gendered conflict bargaining sex ratio gender ideology gender norms |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X24000033/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT reneevhagen sexratiosandgendernormswhybothareneededtounderstandsexualconflictinhumans AT brookeascelza sexratiosandgendernormswhybothareneededtounderstandsexualconflictinhumans |