Male Androphilia in the Ancestral Environment

Human Nature 24 (4):375-401 (2013)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The kin selection hypothesis posits that male androphilia (male sexual attraction to adult males) evolved because androphilic males invest more in kin, thereby enhancing inclusive fitness. Increased kin-directed altruism has been repeatedly documented among a population of transgendered androphilic males, but never among androphilic males in other cultures who adopt gender identities as men. Thus, the kin selection hypothesis may be viable if male androphilia was expressed in the transgendered form in the ancestral past. Using the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), we examined 46 societies in which male androphilia was expressed in the transgendered form (transgendered societies) and 146 comparison societies (non-transgendered societies). We analyzed SCCS variables pertaining to ancestral sociocultural conditions, access to kin, and societal reactions to homosexuality. Our results show that ancestral sociocultural conditions and bilateral and double descent systems were more common in transgendered than in non-transgendered societies. Across the entire sample, descent systems and residence patterns that would presumably facilitate increased access to kin were associated with the presence of ancestral sociocultural conditions. Among transgendered societies, negative societal attitudes toward homosexuality were unlikely. We conclude that the ancestral human sociocultural environment was likely conducive to the expression of the transgendered form of male androphilia. Descent systems, residence patterns, and societal reactions to homosexuality likely facilitated investments in kin by transgendered males. Given that contemporary transgendered male androphiles appear to exhibit elevated kin-directed altruism, these findings further indicate the viability of the kin selection hypothesis

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Raising Darwin’s consciousness.Sarah Blaffer Hrdy - 1997 - Human Nature 8 (1):1-49.
Environmental tracking by females.Del Thiessen - 1994 - Human Nature 5 (2):167-202.
Male genital modification.Raven Rowanchilde - 1996 - Human Nature 7 (2):189-215.
The patriarch hypothesis.Frank Marlowe - 2000 - Human Nature 11 (1):27-42.

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-11-24

Downloads
29 (#474,441)

6 months
4 (#319,344)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?