Evolutionary Perspectives on Male Androphilia in Humans

Abstract

Androphilia refers to predominant sexual attraction and arousal to adult males, whereas gynephilia refers to predominant sexual attraction and arousal to adult females. Research on the evolution of same-sex sexuality in humans has focused on explaining the origin of exclusive male androphilia and its persistence over time. Until very recently, it would not have been possible to write a book chapter, like this one, which examines the evolution of male androphilia from an evidence-based, quantitative perspective. There simply was not enough information available to justify a review of the literature. In 2004, Andrea Camperio Ciani and his colleagues published what was arguably the first study to gain any traction in relation to understanding the evolutionary paradox that is male androphilia (Camperio-Ciani, Coma, & Capiluppi, 2004). Prior to that, there existed only a single quantitative study on this topic and it reported nonsignificant findings (Bobrow & Bailey, 2001). Apart from that, the literature on the evolution of male androphilia could aptly be characterized up to that point in time as overwhelmingly theoretical and speculative, with no grounding in any quantitative data whatsoever. Since the publication of the Camperio-Ciani el al. (2004) study, however, significant advances have been made in understanding how a trait like male androphilia, which lowers reproductive success, might persist over evolutionary time. In what follows, we provide a framework for thinking about how to study the evolution of male androphilia and a review of the pertinent literature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)