ANT211H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Gender Role, Relational Aggression, Inclusive Fitness
Document Summary
Monogamy tends to equalise mate competition between sexes. Women show greater restraint in their use of direct intrasexual aggression, a result of their higher parental investment and the consequently greater reproductive cost of injury or death. Women usually compete for mates by advertising qualities valued by men (beauty and sexual exclusiveness) and by using indirect means of denigrating rivals (gossip or stigmatisation) However, where well-resourced men are in short supply, omen must find alternative sources of support or escalate their competition for male partners to physical levels. Academic interest in competition among women was almost nonexistent until the 1980s. Initial research found that girls tended to avoid competition in favour of tactics that diffuse conflict and preserve interpersonal harmony. Research that has examined the focus of female competition identifies appearance, popularity, and preservation of good sexual reputation as central. Some work suggests that competition is more than among their middle-class white counterparts.
