Male power over females is not the default social dynamic in primates, says study (phys.org)

submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world

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Male dominance has long been assumed to be nearly universal in primates, with female power viewed as a rare exception to the rule. However, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, female-biased power structures or social equality between the sexes can be found within every major primate group and probably existed throughout evolutionary history.

The study, published in the journal Animals, challenges presumptions of male dominance in primates and may also have implications for other animal species.

The team reviewed previous literature on 79 primate species, dividing them into male-dominant, female-dominant, or co-dominant categories, and then analyzed which variables correlated with these social patterns.

They found that male-biased power was likely to develop in species in which males had larger body sizes and longer canine teeth than their female counterparts. Female power may emerge when the supply of available female mating partners is lower than male demand, thus giving the females in those species greater social leverage, particularly if size differences between the sexes are minimal.

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[-] Paraponera_clavata@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

Looking into it more this is a fake journal. MDPI is a pay to publish publisher with little interest in peer review.

[-] Cowlitz@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

I'm not commenting on the journal or the article specifically. My bf used to work with primates in harem groups. His facility put a young male in with a group of females who's male had passed away. They beat the shit out of him and they had to remove him. They were dumb enough to try again and got the same result and a male who was now afraid of females.

The premise is obviously not wrong across all primates because there are species with female leadership such as bonobos. I think even in male dominanted societies females could potentially gain power by banding together (they are often close relatives) against a male. I could see other males using that as an opportunity to move in. While the males are larger and more aggressive. Most primate groups have a single male with several females. They may not be as strong but they have numbers. The biggest issue is their baby. Males are the biggest danger to babies, even their own. They also have reason not to oust males because a new male often kills all the babies.

This may not be the study to provide evidence for this due to some issues but its still an interesting topic to think about.