Sexual conflict: Difference between revisions

'''Sexual conflict''' refers to intersexual conflict, meaning conflicting sexual strategies between the sexes, i.e. diverging interests in males and females to optimize their fitness over many generations. From the point of view of women, this is done best if the mate cares for the young thus freeing resources (e.g., time and energy) that can be invested in additional offspring. Regarding to polygynous mating systems, sexual conflict means the optimization of male reproductive success by having mated with multiple females although reproductive success of a polygynously mated female is reduced.<ref>https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/19/2/456/214088</ref>

The sexes literally engage in a war over the course of revolution.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMCtE2-YsLc</ref>

Men seek extra-pair copulation because they can scatter their seeds, but this is at odds with women fitness as they depend on men's resources, hence women seek men who invest in them (by attracting them with a reputation of faithfulness and looks). Only in case of very good looking men, women's desire for investment is set off by the promise for the genes for good looking offspring ([[sexy sons hypothesis]]).

Women can conspicuously display their secondary sexual characteristics which have possibly evolved from [[Fisherian runaway|positive feedback]] in [[sexual selection]]. Thereby women can hope to acquire a higher quality man. This is why most women crave sexual attention. Men however, dislike when their partner whores for attention because it increases the risk of being cuckolded. But not just men dislike it. Historically, marriages were predominantly arranged and marriage was a question of passing on family wealth, hence the entire family had an interest for women to be faithful to avoid spending their resources on some other man's offspring. This is likely one reason why women have been heavily controlled and sequestered away in many cultures, not only by the men, but also the man's parents.<ref>https://quillette.com/2018/11/25/on-the-nature-of-patriarchy/</ref><ref>http://www.femininebeauty.info/suppression.pdf</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S109051381730363X</ref> So there is a sexual conflict between families and women conspicuously advertising themselves.

The [[feminine imperative]] is a collection of adaptations that allow women to maximize their fitness, often at the cost of men's fitness.