Sexual Competition in Women, Essay Example

There’s a competition in the sexual world that isn’t man pitted against woman, but rather woman pitted against her own kin, or “intrasexual competition” (Tierney, 2013, para. 3). This competition is backed by the psychology theory of indirect aggression strategy. This paper will analyze women’s sexual behavior within this theory and analyze how such behavior benefits womankind on a biological level.

Indirect aggression strategy is a low cost attack of one woman against another on the sexual playing field. This means that the attacker is typically unharmed during the interaction but the attack serves to inflict a small to large amount of harm (typically psychological (e.g. ignominious harm). The psychological motives of the aggressor are typically unnoticed (Ghose, 2013, para. 3). Indirect aggression strategy levels the playing field on a psychological level as over-aggression or physical behavior, is used by men. Researchers at the University of Ottawa suggest that indirect aggression strategy is used by women based on a biological model, and thus came into being through evolution (Ghose, 2013, para. 5).

Researchers at the University of the United Kingdom back up indirect aggression strategy based on a biological model stating that women were predisposed to such behavior because they were programmed to have children, as well as to rear them: women saw their role as mothers as vital and therefore a harmful environment wasn’t conducive to that environment/role. Thus, the primary form of combat for women was to ostracize other females, which has a low physical impact (lack of confrontation) (Ghose, 2013, para. 7).

Indirect aggression strategy has evolved from simply ostracizing women, it has grown to include such behavior as backstabbing, gossiping, and talking behind another woman’s back. The emotional response to such behavior is devastating for women because on an evolutionary scale women have depended on each other to help raise children (Ghose, 2013, para. 9). Thus, shunning a women works to not only occlude women from the pack mentality of early humans, but worked to occlude her children as well; furthermore, as Ghose (2013) states, “Not only does such cattiness make the targeted women too sad and anxious to compete in the sexual market, some studies suggest it can make men find rivals less attractive — provided the badmouthing comes from a cute woman…”(para. 10). In polygnous societies men were in competition with one another in order to secure as many wives as possible. The more dominant the male, the more wives he had. Thus, there was a competition for reproduction. Women were not absent such strategies either. In these societies women had to compete with other; more desirable women, for resources and for children (Fisher, 2011, para. 5-8). In today’s monogamous society, women are on the same level as men, “In fact, they face tougher odds in some places, like the many college campuses with more women than men” (Tierney, 2013, para. 5). Indirect aggression strategy is used to handicap rivals in a more competitive world for lowering resources. According to the evolutionary theory, intra-sexual competition revolves around traits that the opposite sex finds attractive. In the 1980’s, American evolutionary psychologist David Buss, discovered that intra-sexual competition’s dichotomy was comprised of self-promotion and competitor derogation. For women, this means showcasing both their youth and their physical attractiveness (both of which are male preferences). Therefore, in indirect aggression strategy, women criticize each other for the following: age, appearance, and character (e.g. promiscuity) (Shpancer, 2014, para. 3). Indirect aggression strategy is used for other means besides ostracizing.

Indirect aggression strategy is used in order to punish women who either threaten another woman, or who are perceived as having performed sexual transgressions. Women who are seen as promiscuous, have received the brunt of indirect aggression strategy. Thus, women are working to suppress other women’s sexuality. Biologically speaking, sex is seen as a resource, and women who are promiscuous are lowering the value of that resource (Ghose, 2013, para. 12). In turn, however, it’s revealed that women value sex.

Through indirect aggression strategy, women are setting the bar as to what is acceptable behavior and what other women’s physical appearance should be. According to researchers at Emmanuel College in Boston, indirect aggression strategy is used for three reasons: 1) lack of bodily harm is involved in using such strategy (thereby lessening harmful effects for future pregnancy) as there is no physical confrontation; 2) high status as “very attractive women need less help and protection from other women and are less motivated to invest in other women” (Shpancer, 2014, para. 8); 3) ostracisizing-as a new attractive woman is seen as a threat for limited resources (Shpancer, 2014, para. 9).

Indirect aggression strategy is a psychological tool sprung from biological necessities. Men are seen as intra-sexual competition among women. A woman’s biological prerogative is to secure her future as a mother and any means that allows her to do this without bodily harm, takes priority. Indirect aggression strategy is rampant in modern society as can be witnessed in culture, and treatment of promiscuous women (slut-shaming). It is a theory that is applicable to women’s psychology in relation to intra-sexual competition.

References

Fisher, M. (2011). “Yes, women do compete for men.” Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/loves-evolver/201102/yes-women-do-compete-men

Ghose, T. (2013). “Women evolved indirect aggression strategy to compete with one another, researcher claims.” Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/women-evolved-indirect-aggression-compete_n_4169651.html

Shpancer, N. (2014). “Feminine foes: new science explores female competition.”Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-therapy/201401/feminine-foes-new-science-explores-female-competition

Tierney, J. (2013). “A cold war fought between women.” The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/science/a-cold-war-fought-by-women.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0