Abstract
Evolutionary biologists are increasingly enamored with emerging “female perspectives” on social behavior. Yet, at this writing, to my mind, despite the pioneering work of Hrdy (e.g., 1981, 1986), we still have a way to go for full incorporation of proactive female agency in our hypotheses about social behavior. Here I outline some of the problems with our basic theories as I see them and suggest one alternative perspective that places females and their interests in the center of discussions about the evolution of social behavior. At the outset, I think it worth noting that I am not claiming that the ideas derived from the alternatives I see are cure-alls for our general theoretical and empirical failings in regard to females. I think these new perspectives are useful because the focus on females does suggest novel empirical approaches to investigations of the selective forces favoring this behavior or that. If this view has merit, more attention to variation among females will result. I see this effort as an ongoing process, and I look forward to the day when gender-neutral notions characterize our theories and empirical investigations. In this chapter I have tried to suggest gender-neutral ways to conceptualize some of the ideas that have appeared to short-shift females in the past, and some of the newer ideas that have enamored me about females and female agency.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson, M. 1994. Sexual Selection. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Arnold, S. and D. Duvall. 1994. Animal mating systems: A synthesis based on selection theory. American Naturalist 143:317–348.
Baker, R. R. and Bellis, M. A. 1993a. Human sperm competition: ejaculate adjustment by males and the function of masturbation. Animal Behaviour 46:861–885.
Baker, R. R. and M. A. Bellis. 1993b. Human sperm competition: Ejaculate manipulation by females and a function for the female orgasm. Animal Behaviour 46:887–909.
Basolo, A. 1990. Female preference for male sword length in the green swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri (Pisces: Poeciliidae). Animal Behaviour 40:332–338.
Bateman, A. J. 1948. Intra-sexual selection in Drosophila. Heredity 2:349–368.
Beltoff, J. and S. A. Gauthreaux. 1991. Aggression and dominance in house finches. Condor 93:1010–1013.
Berglund A. and G. N. Rosenqvist. 1990. Male limitation of female reproductive success in a pipefish: Effects of body size differences. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27:129–133.
Berglund A. and G. Rosenqvist. 1993. Selective males and ardent females in pipefishes. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 32:331–336.
Berglund A., G. Rosenqvist, and I. Svensson. 1989. Reproductive success of females limited by males in two pipefish species. American Naturalist 133(4):506–516.
Blackwell, Antoinette. 1875 (1976). The Sexes Throughout Nature. New York: Putnam’s Sons; reprinted, Westport, CT: Hyperion Press, Inc.
Bressac, C., A. Fleury, and D. Lachaise. 1994. Another way of being anisogamous in Drosophila subgenus species: Giant sperm, one-to-one gamete ratio, and high zygote provisioning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Unites States of America 91:10399–10402.
Borgia, G. 1979. Sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems. In M. S. Blum and N. A. Blum (Eds.), Sexual Selection and Reproductive Competition in Insects, pp. 19–80. New York: Academic Press.
Borgerhoff Mulder, M. 1991. Human behavioural ecology. In J. R. Krebs and N.B. Davies (Eds.), Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach, 3rd ed., pp. 69–98. London: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Clutton-Brock, T. H., Parker, G. 1995. Punishment in animal societies. Nature 373, 209–216.
Darwin, C. 1859. Origin of Species. London: Murray.
Darwin, C. 1871. The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. New York: Appleton.
Davies, N. B. 1989. Sexual conflict and the polygamy threshold. Animal Behaviour 38:226–234.
Davies, N. B. 1991. Mating systems. In J. R. Krebs and N. B. Davies (Eds.), Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach, 3rd ed., pp. 263–294. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Davies, N. B. 1992. Dunnock Behavior and Social Evolution. London: Oxford University Press.
Dickemann, M. 1979a. Female infanticide, reproductive strategies and social stratification: A preliminary model. In N. Chagnon and W. Irons (Eds.), Evolutionary Biology and Human Social Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective, pp. 321–367. Boston: Duxbury Press.
Emlen, S. T. and L. W. Oring. 1977. Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197:215–223.
Endler, J. 1988. Sexual selection and prédation risk in guppies. Nature 332:593–594.
Gibbs, H. L., Weatherhead, P. J., Boag, P. T., White, B. N., Tabak, L. M. and Hoysak, D. J. 1990. Realized reproductive success of polygynous red-winged blackbirds revealed by DNA markers. Science 250, 1394–1397.
Ginsberg, J. R. and D. I. Rubenstein. 1990. Sperm competition and variation in zebra mating behaviour. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 26:427–434.
Gowaty, P. A. 1982. Sexual terms in sociobiology: Emotionally evocative and, paradoxically, jargon. Animal Behaviour 30:630–631.
Gowaty, P. A. 1996a. Battles of the sexes and origins of monogamy: In J. L. Black (Ed.), Partnerships in Birds. Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 21–52.
Gowaty, P. A. 1996b. Field studies of parental care in birds: New data focus questions on variation in females. In C. T. Snowdon and J. S. Rosenblatt (Eds.), Advances in the Study of Behaviour. Academic Press, New York 476–531.
Gowaty, P. A. 1992. Evolutionary biology and feminism. Human Nature 3:217–249.
Gowaty, P. A. and Dale L. Droge. 1991. Sex ratio conflict and the evolution of sex-biased provisioning. Acta XX Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici Volume II: 932–945.
Gowaty, P. A. and W. C. Bridges. 1991. Behavioral, demographic, and environmental correlates of uncertain parentage in eastern bluebirds. Behavioral Ecology 2:339–350.
Hill, G. E. 1990. Female house finches prefer colourful males: Sexual selection for a condition-dependent trait. Animal Behaviour 40:563–572.
Hooper, R. G. and M. R. Lennartz. 1981. Foraging behavior of the red-cockaded woodpecker in South Carolina. Auk 98:321–334.
Hrdy, S. B. 1986. Empathy, polyandry, and the myth of the coy female. In R. Bleier (Ed.), Feminist Approaches to Science. New York: Pergamon Press.
Hrdy, S. B. 1981. The Woman That Never Evolved. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hrdy, S. B. 1980. The Languars of Abu. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Hrdy, S. B. 1979. Infanticide among animals: A review, classification, and examination of the implications for the reproductive strategies of females. Ethology and Sociobiology 1:13–40.
Janetos, A. C. 1980. Strategies of female mate choice: A theoretical analysis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 7:107–112.
Kano, T. 1987. Social organization of the pygmy chimpanzee and the common chimpanzee: Similarities and differences. In S. Dawano, J. Connell, and T. Hidaka (Eds.), Evolution and Coadaptation in Biotic Communities, pp. 53–64. Tokyo: Univ. of Tokyo Press.
Kano, T. and M. Mulavwa. 1984. Feeding ecology of the Pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus) of Wamba. In R. L. Susman (Ed.), The Pygmy Chimpanzee: Evolutionary Morphology and Behavior, pp. 233–274. New York: Plenum Press.
Keller, E. F. and E. A. Lloyd. 1992. Key Words in Evolutionary Biology. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Kempenaers, B., G. R. Verheyen, M. VandenBroeck, T. Burke, C. Banbroeckhoven, and A. D. Dhondt. 1992. Extra-pair paternity results from female preference for high-quality males in the blue tit. Nature 357:494–496.
Kirkpatrick, M. and M. J. Ryan. 1991. The evolution of mating preferences and the paradox of the lek. Nature 350:33–38.
Krebs, J. R. and R. Dawkins. 1984. Animal signals: Mind-reading and manipulation. In J. R. Krebs and N. B. Davies (Eds.), Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach, 2nd ed., pp. 380–402. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Lewontin, R. C., S. Rose, and L. Kamin. 1984. Not in Our Genes: Biology, Ideology and Human Nature. New York: Pantheon Press.
Lifjeld, J. T., P. O. Dunn, and D. F. Westneat. MS. Sexual selection by sperm competition in brids: Male-male competition or female choice?
Maynard Smith, J. 1977. Parental investment—a prospective analysis. Animal Behaviour 25:1–9.
Moore, F. A. and M. V. McDonald. 1992. On the possibility that intercontinental landbird migrants copulate en route. Auk 110:157–160.
Morris, W. 1971. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Boston: American Heritage Publishing Co. and Houghton Mifflin.
Orians, G. 1969. On the evolution of mating systems in birds and mammals. American Naturalist 103:589–603.
Oring, L. W., R. C. Fleischer, J. M. Reed, and K. E. Marsden. 1992. Cuckoldry through stored sperm in the sequentially polyandrous spotted sandpiper. Nature 359:631–633.
The Oxford English Dictionary. 1971. London: Oxford University Press.
Packer, C. and A. E. Pusey. 1983a. Adaptations of female lions to infanticide by incoming males. American Naturalist 121:716–728.
Packer, C. and A. E. Pusey. 1983b. Male takeovers and female reproductive parameters: A simulation of oestrous synchrony in lions (Panthera leo). Animal Behaviour 31: 334–340.
Parker, G. A. 1979. Sexual selection and sexual conflict. In M. S. Blum and N. A. Blum (Eds.), Sexual Selection and Reproductive Competition in Insects, New York: Academic Press.
Parker, G. A., R. R. Baker, and V. G. F. Smith. 1972. The origin and evolution of gametic dimorphism and the male-female phenomenon. Journal of Theoretical Biology 36:529–533.
Petrie, M. 1993. Peahens lay more eggs for peacocks with large trains. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 251:127–131.
Petrie, M., T. Halliday, and C. Sanders. 1991. Peahens prefer peacocks with elaborate trains. Animal Behaviour 41:323–331.
Rails, K. 1976. Mammals in which females are larger than males. Quarterly Review of Biology 51:245–276.
Real, L. 1990. Search theory and mate choice: I. Models of single-sex discrimination. American Naturalist 136:376–405.
Rosenqvist, G. 1990. Male mate choice and female-female competition for mates in the pipefish Nerophis ophidion. Animal Behaviour 39:1110–1115.
Rosenqvist, G. and A. Berglund. 1992. Is female sexual behaviour a neglected topic? Trends in Ecology & Evolution 7:174–176.
Small, M. F., Ed. 1983. Female Primates: Studies by Women Primatologists. New York: Liss.
Small, M. F., Ed. 1993. Female Choices: Sexual Behavior of Female Primates. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Smuts, B. B. 1992. Male aggression against females in primates: Data and implications for sexual selection theory. Human Nature 3:1–44.
Smuts, B. B. 1995. The origins of patriarchy: An evolutionary perspective. Human Nature 6:1–32.
Smuts, B. B. and R. W. Smuts. 1993. Male aggression and sexual coercion of females in nonhuman primates and other mammals: Evidence and theoretical implications. Advances in the Study of Behavior 22:1–63.
Thornhill, R. 1980. Rape in Panorpa scorpionflies and a general rape hypothesis. Animal Behaviour 28:52–59.
Trivers, R. 1985. Social Evolution. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
Trivers, R. L. and D. Willard. 1973. Natural selection of parental ability to vary the sex ratio of offspring. Science 179:90–91.
Trivers, R. 1972. Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man 1971–1971, pp. 136–179. Chicago: Aldine.
Vincent, A., I. Ahnesjo, A. Berglund, and G. Rosenqvist. 1992. Pipefishes and seahorses: Are they all sex role reversed? Trends in Ecology & Evolution 7:237–241.
Williams, G. C. 1966. Adaptation and Natural Selection: A Critique of Some Current Evolutionary Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Wilson, E. O. 1975. Sociobiology. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
Wolf, L. L. 1978. Aggressive social organization in nectarivorous birds. American Zoologist. 18:765–778.
Wrangham, R. W. 1979. On the evolution of ape social systems. Social Science Information 18:334–368.
Wrangham, R. W. 1980. An ecological model of female-bonded groups. Behaviour 75:262–300.
Zuk, M., K. Johnson, R. Thornhill, and J. D. Ligon. 1990a. Mechanisms of female choice in red jungle fowl. Evolution 44:477–485.
Zuk, M., R. Thornhill, J. D. Ligon, K. Johnson, S. Austad, S. H. Ligon, N. W. Thornhill, and C. Costin. 1990b. The role of male ornaments and courtship behavior in female mate choice of red jungle fowl. American Naturalist 136:459–473.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gowaty, P.A. (1997). Sexual Dialectics, Sexual Selection, and Variation in Reproductive Behavior. In: Gowaty, P.A. (eds) Feminism and Evolutionary Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5985-6_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5985-6_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-07361-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5985-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive