An evolution expert shut down the harmful "boys will be boys" explanation for sexual misconduct
An evolution expert shut down the harmful "boys will be boys" explanation for sexual misconduct
December 07, 2017 3:00 pm
As an anthropologist who studies the evolutionary biology of men, I have followed with distress the recent spate of reports on the sexual harassment and abuse of women by high-profile men, and the inevitable question that follows: Are men simply prewired to behave badly towards women?
When this rationalization is implied — and it commonly is — the conversation often leads to one explanation: evolution. Maybe, some suggest, behaviors like sexual harassment and violence towards women are the result of millions of years of evolution. Maybe the selection pressures of men and male competition, in tandem with the need to reproduce, have perhaps led to the entrenchment of bad behaviors in men. Maybe it is part of our biology, our DNA — and us men cannot help ourselves. It is asked: Can we simply say “boys will be boys” and explain sexual harassment as the natural extension of maleness?
The answer is no. We cannot.
While natural selection has and continues to influence human evolution, such as the challenge of emerging and more virulent infectious diseases, it is vital to remember that it does so within the broad and crucial context of environmental influences, including social and economic factors that are squarely under our control. Evolution can inform our understanding of basic behavioral traits in all organisms, including humans. However, evolution cannot say much about individual behavior.
It is true that men are more likely to engage in sexual harassment than women — including in non-human primates and other distantly related animals, for which it is often the case that males are the harassers and perpetrators of violence against females. One of many contributing factors is that natural selection commonly leads to traits that embolden primate males, such as larger body sizes compared to females. This is often associated with males exerting power over females, including harassment. But while humans share many traits with these species, we are not just another primate. We are unique in many ways, including having evolved the heightened ability to adjust to our natural and social environment through our physiology, behavior and culture.
More:
https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/evolution-expert-shut-harmful-boys-will-boys-explanation-sexual-misconduct/
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is Despicable Whether Sexual or Otherwise
