Sexual Strategies Research Articles

Quick-change artists: male guppies pay no cost to repeatedly adjust their sexual strategies

Being flexible in reproductive decisions is highly beneficial in variable environments, but flexibility may also entail costs. Male guppies modify their sperm production and sexual behavior when mating opportunities vary. We investigated lifetime effects of these responses. We show that repeatedly adjusting reproductive strategies has little cost for male guppies, as it does not compromise their condition, their lifespan, or the expression of sexual traits.

Development of a Socioecological Adolescent Sexual Health Index and Atlas: A Case Study in Washington State

ABSTRACTAdolescent sexual health programs often frame needs assessments using risk-taking, disease, or fertility data, fostering a narrow perspective of sexual health and limiting scopes of related programs. We address the gap between traditional measures and the socioecological lens used by many in the field. Using Washington State as an example, we report methods for developing and mapping an index of sex education needs that integrates social determinants of health (SDH) to reflect the complex, interrelated influences affecting adolescents. The generated index and maps support a holistic approach to assessing inequity, resource allocation gaps, and specific programmatic needs of young people. This case study demonstrates that it is possible and important to align adolescent sexual health measurement strategies with more holistic adolescent sexuality development frameworks. We recommend that public health professionals consider a broader range of data on SDH in their sex education policy and program decision making.

Synergy from reproductive division of labor and genetic complexity drive the evolution of sex.

Computer experiments that mirror the evolutionary dynamics of sexual and asexual organisms as they occur in nature were used to test features proposed to explain the evolution of sexual recombination. Results show that this evolution is better described as a network of interactions between possible sexual forms, including diploidy, thelytoky, facultative sex, assortation, bisexuality, and division of labor between the sexes, rather than a simple transition from parthenogenesis to sexual recombination. Diploidy was shown to be fundamental for the evolution of sex; bisexual reproduction emerged only among anisogamic diploids with a synergistic division of reproductive labor; and facultative sex was more likely to evolve among haploids practicing assortative mating. Looking at the evolution of sex as a complex system through individual-based simulations explains better the diversity of sexual strategies known to exist in nature, compared to classical analytical models.

Sexual Disgust Trumps Pathogen Disgust in Predicting Voter Behavior During the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.

Why is disgust sensitivity associated with socially conservative political views? Is it because socially conservative ideologies mitigate the risks of infectious disease, whether by promoting out-group avoidance or by reinforcing norms that sustain antipathogenic practices? Or might it be because socially conservative ideologies promote moral standards that advance a long-term, as opposed to a short-term, sexual strategy? Recent attempts to test these two explanations have yielded differing results and conflicting interpretations. Here, we contribute to the literature by examining the relationship between disgust sensitivity and political orientation, political party affiliation, and an often overlooked outcome-actual voter behavior. We focus on voter behavior and affiliation for the 2016 U.S. presidential election to determine whether pathogen or sexual disgust better predicts socially conservative ideology. Although many prominent aspects of Donald Trump's campaign-particularly his anti-foreign message-align with the pathogen-avoidance model of conservatism, we found that pathogen-related disgust sensitivity exerted no influence on political ideology, political party affiliation, or voter behavior, after controlling for sexual disgust sensitivity. In contrast, sexual disgust sensitivity was associated with increased odds of voting for Donald Trump versus each other major presidential candidate, as well as with increased odds of affiliating with the Republican versus the Democratic or Libertarian parties. In fact, for every unit increase in sexual disgust sensitivity, the odds of a participant voting for Trump versus Clinton increased by approximately 30%. It seems, then, that sexual disgust trumps pathogen disgust in predicting socially conservative voting behavior.

Pheromone expression reveals putative mechanism of unisexuality in a saprobic ascomycete fungus

Homothallism (self-fertility) describes a wide variety of sexual strategies that enable a fungus to reproduce in the absence of a mating partner. Unisexual reproduction, a form of homothallism, is a process whereby a fungus can progress through sexual reproduction in the absence of mating genes previously considered essential for self-fertility. In this study, we consider the molecular mechanisms that allow for this unique sexual behaviour in the saprotrophic ascomycete; Huntiella moniliformis. These molecular mechanisms are also compared to the underlying mechanisms that control sex in Huntiella omanensis, a closely related, but self-sterile, species. The main finding was that H. omanensis displayed mating-type dependent expression of the a- and α-pheromones. This was in contrast to H. moniliformis where both pheromones were co-expressed during vegetative growth and sexual development. Furthermore, H. moniliformis also expressed the receptors of both pheromones. Consequently, this fungus is likely able to recognize and respond to the endogenously produced pheromones, allowing for self-fertility in the absence of other key mating genes. Overall, these results are concomitant with those reported for other unisexual species, but represent the first detailed study considering the unisexual behaviour of a filamentous fungus.

Sexual Responses Are Facilitated by High-Order Contextual Cues in Females but Not in Males.

Sexual responses are thought to be controlled by a brain module called the sexual module. Sexual strategies of males and females vary to a great extent, and sexual responses of males and females may be affected by their sexual strategies. However, the current view of the sexual module is that of a unisex module. This might be questionable since brain modules are defined as evolved cognitive mechanisms to solve adaptive problems which are different for males and females. We hypothesize that the sexual module responds differently in the presence of complex (high-order) contextual cues that are related to gender-dimorphic sexual strategies in males and females. We conducted a priming experiment in which stimuli related to sexual strategies were disentangled from their sexual meaning. Nonsexual priming pictures related to either economic resources or social interactions preceded a sexual-target picture in order to test whether the primes were able to modulate the subjective sexual response to the sexual target. In a control condition, priming pictures without relation to mating preferences but with similar emotional impact were presented. In males, sexual responses were similar in the experimental and control conditions. In females, however, primes related to economic resources or social interactions modulated sexual arousal significantly more than the control primes. Our findings suggest that brain modules dedicated to process the experimental primes were functionally connected with the sexual module in females more than in males, making females' sexual responses more prone to the impact of high-order cultural cues than males' sexual responses. A gender-dimorphic connectivity of the sexual module may be the way in which gender-dimorphic sexual strategies are implemented in the human mind.

Stone-age strategies and space-age media: Sex differences in sexual signaling on Facebook

Building on the proposition of the Sexual Strategies Theory that sex differences in mating strategies and intrasexual competition will be reflected in sexual signaling behavior towards possible mates, we sought to examine if such strategies would be observable on social networking sites. For the purpose of the study, ten male and ten female public profile pictures were randomly selected from a large pool of users ( N = 1386) who chose to participate in the study and subscribed to a Facebook page created in order to aggregate users with an interest in Evolutionary psychology. Selected profile photos were then included in an online evaluation protocol, filled out by 31 independent raters, resulting in a total of 620 ratings. The protocol addressed nine evolutionarily relevant partner choice characteristics; 1) physical strength or athleticism, (2) access to resources or material possessions, (3) ambition or industriousness, (4) social status, (5) intelligence, (6) features of physical appearance, (7) features accentuating youthfulness, (8) high activity level, and (9) flirtatious behavior. Males more frequently emphasized cues of social status, ambition and access to material resources, whereas females tended to emphasize features of physical appearance and of youthfulness. Furthermore, the perception of masculinity was mostly tied to the display of resources and physical strength, as was femininity to physical appearance and flirtatious behavior. The Sexual Strategies Theory predictions of mating display behaviors were confirmed in online settings, demonstrating the robustness of sex differences in mating-related behaviors.

The synergistic effect of prosociality and physical attractiveness on mate desirability.

Mate selection requires a prioritization and joint evaluation of different traits present or absent in potential mates. Herein, we focus on two such traits - physical attractiveness and prosociality - and examine how they jointly shape impressions of overall desirability. We report on two related experiments which make use of an innovative methodology combining large samples of raters and target persons (i.e., stimuli) and information on targets' behaviour in economic games representing altruistic behaviour (Experiment 1) and trustworthiness (Experiment 2), two important facets of prosociality. In accordance with predictions derived from a cognitive perspective on mate choice and sexual strategies theory, the results show that the impact of being prosocial on an individual's overall desirability was increased further by them also being physically attractive, but only in long-term mating contexts. Furthermore, we show that men's mate preferences for certain prosocial traits (i.e., trustworthiness) were more context-dependent than women's due to differential evolutionary pressures for ancestral men and women.

Composer avec l’interdit religieux

Comment le pouvoir des normes religieuses se traduit-t-il en vécu ? Comment saisir l’emprise de ces normes sur les conduites des personnes interviewées ? Ce texte essaiera de répondre à ces questions en s’appuyant sur les résultats d’une recherche menée auprès de jeunes hommes musulmans (68 au total), marocains, immigrés en Europe (France et Italie), issus de différents milieux sociaux et ayant entre 20 et 30 ans au moment de l’enquête. L’article se propose d’analyser comment les processus d’individualisation religieuse des jeunes interviewés s’imbriquent avec la production de stratégies personnalisées de bricolage des interdits sexuels. Le texte s’intéressera notamment à montrer ce que ces bricolages font aux relations entre partenaires de couple (hétérosexuels) et entre fils et parents, en perspective intra et intergénérationnelle. En s’appuyant sur les histoires de deux jeunes hommes, Rachid et Hamza, il s’agira d’analyser leurs parcours d’individualisation, religieuse et sexuelle, en introduisant la notion d’« arrangement » avec la norme – et notamment de l’interdit sexuel préconjugal selon les préceptes de l’islam.

Reproductive interests and dimensions of political ideology

Abstract Issues that relate to sex and reproduction are among the most hotly debated topics in modern politics, and a number of recent studies have sought to identify the relationship between sexual views and political ideology. In general, studies report that liberals have more permissive sexual views. Combining insights from political science about the dimensionality of political ideology with insights from evolutionary psychology about individual differences in sexual strategies, I argue and demonstrates that the association between permissive sexual views and liberalism masks a more complex set of associations. Individuals with an unrestricted sociosexual orientation are indeed more liberal on issues about authorities (as measured by Right‐Wing Authoritarianism) but are, at the same time, more conservative when it comes to views about dominance and hierarchies (as measured by Social Dominance Orientation). These findings enlighten recent debates about the nature of self‐interest in the formation of political views.

An assessment of sexual health risk behaviors among female youth in juvenile detention

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the association between risky sexual behavior and drug use among female youth sentenced to a regional juvenile detention center. Preincarceration behavioral health risk data were collected from a modified version of the Youth Risk Behaviors Surveillance Survey completed by respondents. Almost all of the 105 participants had been detained before their current sentence, more than half of them were sexually active before the age of 13, and 70% had smoked marijuana or drank alcohol by age 14. A regression analysis was conducted to determine if preincarceration sexual health risk behaviors were significant enough to predict continued risk behaviors related to pregnancy, disease prevention, and substance use. Findings indicate that youth detention-based prevention programs should emphasize sexual and drug-risk reduction strategies as a means to reduce risky behaviors for this population.

Is Support of Censoring Controversial Media Content for the Good of Others? Sexual Strategies and Support of Censoring Pro-Alcohol Advertising.

At least in the United States, there are widespread concerns with advertising that encourages alcohol consumption, and previous research explains those concerns as aiming to protect others from the harm of excessive alcohol use.1 Drawing on sexual strategies theory, we hypothesized that support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising is ultimately self-benefiting regardless of its altruistic effect at a proximate level. Excessive drinking positively correlates with having casual sex, and casual sex threatens monogamy, one of the major means with which people adopting a long-term sexual strategy increase their inclusive fitness. Then, one way for long-term strategists to protect monogamy, and thus their reproductive interest is to support censoring pro-alcohol advertising, thereby preventing others from becoming excessive drinkers (and consequently having casual sex) under media influence. Supporting this hypothesis, three studies consistently showed that restricted sociosexuality positively correlated with support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising before and after various value-, ideological-, and moral-foundation variables were controlled for. Also as predicted, Study 3 revealed a significant indirect effect of sociosexuality on censorship support through perceived media influence on others but not through perceived media influence on self. These findings further supported a self-interest analysis of issue opinions, extended third-person-effect research on support of censoring pro-alcohol advertising, and suggested a novel approach to analyzing media censorship support.

Towards comprehensive and effective strategies to address sexual health

Sexual health is an important global public health concern. Planning effective strategies to improve sexual health requires a high degree of attention to the local epidemiological trends and cultural context where the strategy is to be implemented. The paper by Chemtob et al. describes the process to develop a plan that aims to reduce the burden of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Israel by 2025. This commentary argues that increased attention to planning and implementation of sexual health policy is required in order to address the real burden of disease. Sexual health should not be merely addressed from a communicable disease control perspective but should comprehensively address health and wellbeing of all population groups through a positive approach in line with the WHO current definition of sexual health. As even traditionally culturally conservative societies are experiencing rapid changes in attitudes and practices towards sexual lifestyles, the challenge is to ensure that sexual health strategies combine evidence-informed measures and good practices with culturally appropriate communication and implementation approaches.

Polydrug Use and Heterogeneity in HIV Risk Among People Who Inject Drugs in Estonia and Russia: A Latent Class Analysis

Non-medical drug injection is a major risk factor for HIV infection in Russia and Estonia. Multiple drug use (polydrug) has further been associated with increased harms. We compared HIV, injecting and sexual risk associated with polydrug use among people who injected drugs (PWID) in 2012–2013 in Kohtla-Järve (Estonia, n = 591) and St Petersburg (Russia, n = 811). Using latent class analysis, we identified five (poly)drug classes, the largest consisting of single-drug injectors among whom an opioid was the sole drug injected (56% of PWID). The four remaining polydrug classes included polydrug-polyroute injectors who injected and used opiates and stimulants (9%), opiate-stimulant poly-injectors who injected amphetamine-type-stimulants with a primary opiate (7%) and opiate-opioid poly-injectors who injected opioids and opiates (16%). Non-injection stimulant co-users were injectors who also used non-injection stimulants (12%). In multivariable multinomial regressions, all four polydrug classes were associated with greater injection risks than single-drug injection, while opiate-stimulant and opiate-opioid poly-injection were also associated with having multiple sex partners. Riskier behaviours among polydrug-injectors suggest increased potential for transmission of blood-borne and sexually-transmitted infections. In addition to needles/syringes provision, services tailored to PWID drug and risk profiles, could consider drug-appropriate treatment and sexual risk reduction strategies to curb HIV transmission.

Sexual Dynamics of Married Women with Interpersonal Dependency: A Qualitative Study on Iranian Women

Background: Considering the lack of documented research on the sexuality of dependent persons, this qualitative study examined sexual dynamics among Iranian married women with excessive interpersonal dependency. Methods: Interviews with 18 married women with high interpersonal dependency were coded using thematic analysis. Results: Three major areas emerged from the data under which the themes clustered. These were (1) intrapersonal level which included confused sexual cognitions, intrusive thoughts during sex, preoccupation by sexual thoughts, low tolerance for reduction or interruption of sexual activity, and emotional distress during sex, (2) interactional dynamics including imposing pressure on the husband to have sex and assuming a submissive and receptive role during sex, and (3) contextual processes including social stigma and the effects of social phenomena. Conclusions: These findings presented a relatively clear understanding of the impacts of interpersonal dependency on the sexuality of Iranian women. The majority of the women reported maladaptive sexual strategies, attitudes, and emotions. Moreover, there were several similarities between the sexual dynamics of the women and those of individuals with anxious attachment style. These findings suffer from some limitations in terms of generalization due to the small size of the sample and clinical and cultural considerations. The implications of these findings for practitioners are also considered.

Novel Wing-Flashing Behavior in a Scorpionfly (Panorpa debilis) May be Competitive

Scorpionflies (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) are important models for studying sexual selection and mating strategies. However, much is still unknown about their behavior and natural history. Here we describe a wing-flashing behavior in a population of Panorpa debilis Westwood from central New York. Wing-flashing has been previously observed, but not described in Mecoptera. We use a combination of direct observation and video analysis in an attempt to understand the motivation behind this behavior: is wing-flashing behavior used for attraction of mates, for control of food resources, or perhaps neither? If wing-flashing is involved in mate attraction, we would expect skewed wing-flashing ratios between males and females and a high rate of wing-flashing aimed at conspecifics of the opposite sex. If the behavior is instead used for intraspecific competition for resources, we would expect a high degree of wing-flashing aimed at conspecifics of the same sex or indiscriminate of sex. We demonstrate that this behavior is non-random — and most likely competitive in nature — by showing that wing-flashing preferentially occurs near other individuals, and by comparing wing-flashing rates across males and females in a variety of situations. Both sexes used wing-flashes in response to the opposite sex, though most wing-flashes were female to female signals. Wing-flashing was even observed as a response to potentially competitive arthropods like harvestmen (Leiobunum spp.). In addition to their suitability as study organisms for mating behavior, P. debilis, may be a useful organism for studying animal communication and signaling.

Гендерна культура ортодоксального та модерністського юдаїзму

Статтю присвячено проблемі співвідношення ортодоксально-традиційних та модерністських засад в гендерній культурі юдаїзму. Підводячи підсумки проведеного дослідження, автор відзначає, що гендерні відносини в конкретній релігійній громаді багато в чому залежать від гендерної системи суспільства країни перебування. Гендерний режим релігійної громади запозичує моделі гендерно-статевих відносин, спілкування, зразків поведінки. Провідниками запозичень і їх адаптерами нерідко стають самі члени громади. Безпосередньо через їх практики і через практики їхніх сімей відбувається іноваціонування громад, їх гендерної ідеології і релігійних інституцій.Вищеперераховані практики включають в себе поняття релігійної і світської ідентичностей, сексуальності, влади, релігійної і світської освіти й інші категорії, які безпосередньо пов’язані з поняттями гендеру і гендерних відносин. При цьому особливості гендерного позиціювання істотно різняться в патріархальній та егалітарній гендерній культурах. Гендерна ідентичність юдеїв в патріархальних культурах припускає міксування релігійних та світських уявлень про гендерні ролі. Позиціонування патріархально-релігійного укладу стикається з практиками в повсякденному житті. Найбільш помітним це перетинання стає в сексуальному житті, кар’єрній активності і сімейних стратегіях жінок. Протиріччя між гендерним позиціонуванням і практиками нерідко веде до виникнення почуття провини у членів юдейських громад в патріархальних гендерних культурах суспільства оточення, яке стає частиною їх гендерної ідентичності. У той же час значна кількість практик, не схвалюваних юдаїзмом, знаходять підтримку в гендерних культурах патріархальних суспільств, що веде до розуміння цих практик як легітимних і в рамках релігійних громад. Це твердження стосується, зокрема, індивідуальних практик вивчення жінками священних текстів.В суспільствах з егалітарною гендерною культурою гендерної етнічно-релігійної ідентичності представникам ортодоксального юдаїзму маловластиві патріархальні уявлення про жіночі ролі. Протягом останніх десятиліть їх гендерна ідентичність в контексті релігійності і поза нею розвивалася більш односпрямовано. Навіть у дуже релігійних жінок поняття релігії є слабко пов’язаним з поняттями патріархату і підлеглим становищем жінок. Результати цих змін помітнимі при реалізації індивідуальних світських і релігійних практик жінками-членами громад. Спільною рисою гендерної ідентичності жінок як в патріархальних, так і в егалітарних гендерних культурах стає визначення себе як сильної статі на противагу традиційним гендерним стереотипам щодо жіночої слабкості.

Unintentional Misreporting on Self-Report Measures of Sexually Aggressive Behavior: An Interview Study

The development of effective sexual aggression prevention programs for men relies on data garnered from studies using self-report measures of sexual aggression perpetration. However, few studies have focused on understanding and improving self-report measures of sexual aggression perpetration. The current study used open-ended interviews to explore the nature and frequency of community men’s (N = 34) unintentional misreporting—including both overreporting and underreporting—on two self-report measures of sexual aggression perpetration: the Sexual Experiences Survey–Long Form Perpetration (SES-LFP; Koss et al., 2007) and the Sexual Strategies Scale (SSS; Strang, Peterson, Hill, & Heiman, 2013a). Item misinterpretation led to both overreporting and underreporting of sexual aggression, although underreporting was more common. Men’s interpretations of items, decision-making processes, and reasons for producing discrepant reports across measures were analyzed and discussed. Results could help inform efforts to refine self-report measurement of men’s sexual aggression.

Advances in the understanding of same-sex and opposite-sex sexual harassment

Abstract Sexual harassment has traditionally been studied as men's harassment of women. This has led to a lack of knowledge about same sex harassment, and women harassing peers. This has also downplayed the inherent sexual nature of sexual harassment acts. While keeping in mind that sexual harassment is undesirable and causes distress, one needs to consider that many acts that are perceived as unwanted may not primarily be motivated by a wish to derogate but rather by an interest in soliciting short-term sex. In the current study we examined both perpetrators as well as victims of harassment, and specified both sex of perpetrator and target (a total of eight sex constellations). We reproduced the previously found association between unrestricted sociosexuality and sexual harassment in a representative sample of 1326 high school students (57% women). In all regression models sociosexuality outcompeted traditional measures such as porn exposure, rape stereotypes and hostile sexism. Based on the original work we divided the harassment acts into two groups of tactics: sexual solicitation and competitor derogation. Men were particularly subject to derogatory tactics from other men, while women were particularly subject to solicitation from opposite sex peers. Sexual harassment may be understood better from a human sexual strategies perspective, including competitor derogation and mate solicitation. As such, sociosexual orientation predicts both same sex derogation and opposite sex solicitation. The current results highlight the importance of considering the sex of both perpetrator and target. This advanced understanding of the inherently sexual nature of sexual harassment needs to inform future prevention studies. Unrestricted sociosexuality predicts sexual harassment in all constellations better than traditional social science models.

Comparative Study of Pseudo-continuous Anal Sexual Practice among Preparatory School Youths in Dire Dawa City Administration Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus highly affected young peoples in developing countries, of which sexual transmission was the major route including vaginal, oral and anal sex. Understanding the full range of sexual behavior among young people especially anal sexual experience is very crucial to design appropriate intervention strategies.Objective: To assess oral and anal sexual experience and associated factors among preparatory school youths in Dire Dawa city, Eastern Ethiopia, 2016.Methods: School based cross sectional study was conducted among 1067 school youths attending preparatory schools. Systematic random sampling method was used to select study participants. Data were collected using selfadministered questionnaire and entered in to Epi-data version 3.3.1 and exported to SPSS 20 for analysis. Descriptive and bivariate logistic regression was done. Variables in bivariate analysis with P<0.25 were entered to multiple logistic regression analysis to determine predictor variables. P<0.05 was considered statistically significance and AOR with 95% CI used to assess strength of association.Results: The proportion of youths who reported having anal sex was 6.7% (66). Having multiple sexual partnerships was reported by 56.5% of youths who ever engaged in anal sex. From those who ever engaged to anal sex, 34.8% consistently used condom. Anal sex experience was significantly associated with intimate partner ever engaged to anal sex (AOR=5.34, 95% CI: 4.2-26.98), ever engaged to vaginal sex (AOR=10.64, 95% CI: 2.39-11.9), ever watching pornographic movies (AOR=3.86, 95% CI: 1.45-10.29) and parental monitoring of youth’s sexual behavior (AOR=2.63, 95% CI: 1.12-6.19).Conclusion: Significant proportion of youths had engaged in anal sexual practice and multiple sexual partners were common among youths for anal sex practices. In the contrary consistent condom use was very low. A combination of Sexual health education intervention strategies should be implemented at family, school and community level.