Sexual conflict — what happens when the reproductive interests of males and females diverge — occurs in all sexually reproducing species, including humans.
The Oxford Handbook of Sexual Conflict in Humans
is the first volume to assemble the latest theoretical and empirical work on sexual conflict in humans from the leading scholars in the fields of evolutionary psychology and anthropology.
Following an introductory section that outlines theory and research on sexual conflict in humans and non-humans, ensuing sections discuss human sexual conflict and its manifestations before and during mating. Chapters in these sections address a range of factors topics and factors, including:
- Sexual coercion, jealousy, and partner violence and killing
- The ovulatory cycle, female orgasm, and sperm competition
- Chemical warfare between ejaculates and female reproductive tracts
Chapters in the next section address issues of sexual conflict after the birth of a child. These chapters address sexual conflict as a function of the local sex ratio, men's functional (if unconscious) concern with paternal resemblance to a child, men's reluctance to pay child support, and mate expulsion as a tactic to end a relationship. The handbook's concluding section includes a chapter that considers the impact of sexual conflict on a grander scale, notably on cultural, political, and religious systems.
Addressing sexual conflict at its molecular and macroscopic levels,
is a fascinating resource for the study of intersexual behavior.