Synonyms
Definition
Use by a male of force, or threat of force, that functions to increase the chances that a female will mate with him at a time when she is likely to be fertile and to decrease the chances that she will mate with other males, at some cost to the female (Smuts and Smuts 1993, pp. 2–3).
Introduction
Sexual selection theory traces its origin to The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, in which Charles Darwin theorized about the evolution of traits involved in reproduction (Darwin 1871). Darwin described two processes: the competition among one sex for sexual access to the other and the expression of choice by one sex for traits expressed in the other. Barbara and Robert Smuts proposed that intersexual coercion be considered as a third mechanism of sexual selection, arguing that there is abundant evidence that males use aggression against females to influence their reproductive success (Smuts and Smuts 1993). Sexual...
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References
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Emery Thompson, M. (2018). Sexual Coercion as a Mechanism of Sexual Selection. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2077-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2077-1
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