A new study contradicts the widely accepted idea that males dominate females among primates, revealing much more complex dynamics in the relationships of our closest relatives.
The expression “Alfa male”It is practically understood worldwide as something that defines the greatness of the male and how it commands yours, but according to a new study this expression can be only one simple myth.
O, published last week in PNASanalyzed the way primates end up defining who the alpha is Between the male and the female, with the objective of paving the way for a broader exploration of power relations between men and women
The Franco-German team of researchers analyzed scientific literature in search of interactions between males and primates females that revealed their hierarchical relations, explains the
These included behaviors as aggression, threats and signs of behavior dominant or submissiveas when a primate spontaneously gives way to another.
“For a long time We had a completely binary view this question: we thought that A species was dominated by males or females – And that this was a fixed feature, ”says the main author of the study, Elise Huchardto AFP.
“Recently, This idea was questioned By studies that show that the truth is much more complicated, ”concluded the author.
Over the course of five years, the team has collected data from 253 populations belonging to 121 primates speciesincluding various types of monkeys, Lémures, Tarsios and Loris, and found that the clashes between members of opposite sexes They were much more frequent than thought. On average, more than half of these interactions within a group involved a male and a female.
The clear domain of males over females – defined how to overcome more than 90% of these clashes – was observed in only 17% of the populations.
Between this minority were the baboons and chimpanzees, which are the living relatives closer to humans. The clear domain of females was recorded in 13% of primate populations, including LEMURES AND BONOBOS.
This means that, in 70% of primatesboth males and females can occupy the top of the hierarchy.
Relationship between male and female
When the domain of males was particularly accentuated, this usually happened in species in which males have a evident physical advantagelike larger bodies or teeth.
It was also more common in species that live in the soilwhere females have less ability to run or hideunlike its harboric relatives.
On the other hand, females tend to dominate in societies where they control reproduction. For example, the genitals of babo females swell when they are in the fertile period.
During these few days of the menstrual cycle, males jealously keep females, ensuring that other competitors cannot mate with them. However, In Bonobos, this sexual swelling is less evident.
“Males never know whether or not they are in the fertile period. As a result, Bonobo females They can mate with anyone who they want, when they wantmuch easier, ”explained Huchard.
Female domination is also more common When there is competition between females and when Males participate more in parental care.
In these species, females are often lonely or live only in male-female pairs. This means that monogamy is closely linked to female domination.
Can these results be extrapolated to our species?
There is many differences between humans and the other primates, underlines Huchard. But, in general, we would fit ourselves in the intermediate categorywhere Neither males nor females always exert domination strict on the other.
“These results corroborate quite well what we know about the relationships between men and women among hunters-recolent with, who were more egalitarian than in agricultural societies that came up later,” said Huchard.
