Femininity and Kin-Directed Altruism in Androphilic Men: A Test of an Evolutionary Developmental Model.

Abstract

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal toward males whereas gynephilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal toward females. This study tested the adaptive feminine phenotype model of the evolution of male androphilia via kin selection, which posits that the development of an evolved disposition toward elevated kin-directed altruism among androphilic males is contingent on the behavioral expression of femininity. Gynephilic men, androphilic women, and androphilic men (N = 387) completed measures of childhood and adulthood gender expression and concern for kin's well-being. Adulthood femininity correlated positively with uncle/aunt-like tendencies among androphilic men and women. Although androphilic women reported greater willingness to invest in nieces and nephews than gynephilic and androphilic men, mediation analyses indicated that adult femininity completely mediated these group differences. In addition, changes in the expression of femininity between childhood and adulthood were associated with parallel changes in concern for the well-being of kin among androphilic men. Thus, these findings suggest that femininity is key to the expression of kin-directed altruism among androphilic males and may have been important in the evolution of male androphilia.