1. Female Long-Term Mating Strategies
Sex in the Village

2. Female Mate Choice Minimum parental investment
Women invest more minimally in offspring and bear greater cost
Hence, they are choosier regarding their partners
"A man on a date wonders if he'll get lucky. The woman already knows." - Monica Piper

3. Resourceful Men (1)
For women to evolve preferences for long-term, resourceful mates, men needed to
Acquire, control, & defend resources
Vary in resources & willingness to invest
Be superior at investing in a mate, above and beyond other men

4. Resourceful Men (2) In long-term mates, women tend to prefer
Economic resources
Prestige & status
Slightly older men
Ambition
Dependable, stable men

5. Healthy as a Horse Athletic, strong Aggressive, competitive traits
Tall
Runaway sexual selection constrained… by cancer?
Low fluctuating asymmetry
The scent of symmetry

6. Love & Commitment Love requires some commitment
This commitment may have been a signal of a man’s willingness
To invest resources
To invest in offspring

7. Preference for Good Fathers
A man capable of investing in offspring would have been desirable in ancestral environment
Male parental investment varies based on
Mating strategy (e.g., short- vs. long-term)
Paternity uncertainty

8. Interlude: Similarity
For the most part, we tend to mate with people who are similar
In appearance
In values
In personality traits
This is known as assortative mating

9. Who Wears the Pants (1)? Structural powerlessness hypothesis
Women seek mates who have power & resources so that they can gain them by proxy
EP theory
Women seek mates who have power & resources so that there will be greater investment in offspring

10. Who Wears the Pants (2)? When women control large share of resources
Still prefer men with high status and resource control
Supports EP
Contradicts structural powerlessness hypothesis

11. Marriage vs. Fling
Women, as well as men, set high standards when looking for a long-term partner
Physical attractiveness is not as important as character traits
However, in the short term, attractiveness counts a great deal more than otherwise

12. Interlude: Incest Avoidance (1)
Freud proposed that humans construct norms regarding incest in order to avoid unraveling of family
Incest in humans often has deleterious effects
Recessive lethal alleles

13. Interlude: Incest Avoidance (2)
Westermarck hypothesis
People are naturally averse to mating with others that they were reared with
“Deviant” behaviour will be codified within cultural norms
Contrary to Freud
Example: Israeli kibbutzim
Of 2,767 marriages, only 13 from same kibbutz

14. The Wrap-Up
Females tend to be choosier due to greater minimum investment
For long-term partners, women prefer men who are
Resourceful
Healthy
Committed and loving
Good fathers

15. Things to Come Long-term male preferences Minimum investment
Youth cues
Health cues
Concealed ovulation & paternity uncertainty