Sexual Conflict: Evolutionary Insights into Feminism and the “Battle of the Sexes”

Abstract

starts with 2 assumptions / 1st, much of conflict between the sexes is about sex / 2nd, conflicts about power often center on sexuality and control of sexual access / argue that evolutionary psychology affords critical insights into the nature and operation of conflicts between the sexes generally, and particular aspects of feminist positions more specifically potential points of convergence between feminist and evolutionary perspectives / human evolutionary history: the locus of sex differences / sexual selection / psychological sex differences in domains predicted by theories anchored in sexual selection / evolutionary origins of male resource control or patriarchy / why women's sexuality lies at the core of conflict / conflicts and confluences of interest: are all men really united with other men to control women / consequences for gender wars (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (chapter)