Through certain lenses, cosmetics can be seen as a cultural manipulation of conspicuous traits in both women and men largely because it increases perceived biological fitness. Rooted in Darwinian theories of sexual selection, this author uses the size of a country’s cosmetics industry as a proxy for male mating choice. Attempting to rework sexual selection for the modern age, Kim collects and tests potential predictors of the cosmetic industry and male choice, setting the tone for future research.

Humans, just like other mammals, tend to allow greater sexual freedom for men rather than women. Furthermore, females are burdened with the majority of parenting. Do parenting costs limit sexual unrestrictedness to a different degree for males and females? The authors find that across 48 cultures, as women’s parenting costs decreased through improved physiological and economic conditions, women’s sexual unrestrictedness increased.