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There's something that doesn't sound convincing to me. The study proposes that > Low-status males that have the most to lose due to a hierarchical reconfigurat
by Udik 9y ago
There's something that doesn't sound convincing to me. The study proposes that
> Low-status males that have the most to lose due to a hierarchical reconfiguration are responding to the threat female competitors pose.
This seems to imply that females are seen as competitors in a male hierarchy. But competitors for what, exactly? Male hierarchies establish a dominance scale, and as the study recalls:
> Even in modern day society, dominance and not attractiveness is associated with college male mating success
(italics mine)
So the position in a male hierarchy largely influences male mating success. What does the position of women in the same hierarchy influence? Even if it improved mating success (and this is debatable), it would improve mating success with men, that is, partners the other males are not interested in. In other words, for a male only the position in the male hierarchy should be relevant, not the position in a global hierarchy.
On the other end, competition should be fierce among males as it's strictly the male hierarchy that determines mating opportunities. But this is at odds one of the results of the study, that women are the target of most abuse while interactions among males are much more guarded.
- Toast_25 9y agoI believe it's because if a low status male is below in the hierarchy to someone they're trying to impress by being high in the hierarchy it makes them look bad. I don't believe the point the researchers are trying to make is that low-status men could be lashing out because they're afraid women could beat them in the mating arena, but because women higher in the hierarchy could make them lose.
- observation 9y agoIs that what has happened in polygamist groups?
- AnimalMuppet 9y agoBecause being beaten by a female costs you status among the males. And because they can gain status among the males by beating females verbally, not just by beating them in the game. Note well: I am not justifying any of this. I'm just saying what I think is going on in their minds, in that culture.
- NTDF9 9y agoSo the position in a male hierarchy largely influences male mating success. What does the position of women in the same hierarchy influence? Well, to put it bluntly, if a woman "looks up to" a male, she is likely to mate. For males, that means the global hierarchy matter more than just male hierarchy. They need more women under them in this hierarchy to mate more.