Antifeminist “online manosphere” groups are making misogynistic misinterpretations of cutting-edge evolutionary research that stresses “female sexual agency and assertiveness”, according to a paper which urges scholars to combat the trend – including by avoiding terms like “cuckold”.
Evolutionary scholars “might be surprised to see sexist worldviews reinforced by the ‘dual mating strategy’ and ‘sexy son’ hypotheses, or by the latest research on the ovulatory cycle”, two University of Kent researchers write in the paper, published in Evolutionary Human Sciences.
Based on “extensive qualitative analysis of manosphere discourse” on forums, the paper by finds that the manosphere “has its own version of evolutionary psychology, mingling cutting-edge scientific theories and hypotheses with personal narratives, sexual double standards and misogynistic beliefs”.
Evolutionary research has undergone a shift in its portrayal of female sexuality, from early accounts in Darwin’s era insisting on “coyness and monogamous tendencies”, to a position where there now “exist many competing and overlapping hypotheses stressing the potential fitness benefits of female short-term and extra-pair mating”, write authors Louis Bachaud, a PhD student in Kent’s School of Anthropology and Conservation, and Sarah Johns, reader in evolutionary anthropology at Kent.
