This chapter examines the role of male and female ornamentation. Several hypotheses concerning mating systems and ornamentation are empirically tested; several are supported.

This chapter examines the role of male and female ornamentation. Several hypotheses concerning mating systems and ornamentation are empirically tested; several are supported.

This chapter examines the role of male and female ornamentation. Several hypotheses concerning mating systems and ornamentation are empirically tested; several are supported.

This chapter examines the role of male and female ornamentation. Several hypotheses concerning mating systems and ornamentation are empirically tested; several are supported.

This chapter examines the role of male and female ornamentation. Several hypotheses concerning mating systems and ornamentation are empirically tested; several are supported.

This study tests the association between pathogen risk and degree of polygyny and sexual advertisement. Results show that the greater the risk of serious pathogens, the greater the degree of polygyny. The correlation between pathogen risk and sexual signals is only marginally significant. An association between mate choice and resource control is also examined.

This study follows the theoretical construct of general cultural tightness and looseness (TL). Tightness is thought to be adaptive when facing socioecological threat, such as resource stress, since it involves a greater amount of cooperation. The study asks: "Why do some societies have relatively standardized or uniform clothing and adornment, whereas others have considerable variability across individuals?", which is connected to the broader question of why some societies show more within-group variation. The authors use a sample of 80 non-industrial societies from SCSS, to explore the relationship between general cultural tightness and standardization or synchrony in dress. The results support that tighter societies have more uniformity in dress and that resource stress is a predictor of synchrony. However, it is not supported that egalitarian societies have more synchrony, and that tightness is positively predicted by resource stress.

This article investigates possible correlates of women’s overt political power in a cross-cultural sample. Rule of descent—specifically, matrilineal or double descent— is the only factor the author found to be associated with women’s overt political power. Several other factors, including sex ratio, subsistence type, contribution to subsistence, and political system, are not associated. The author also includes a discussion of political activity among chimpanzees, as well as a brief ethnographic summary of several societies in which women have political power.

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.

This article focuses on ecological correlates of sexual division in the control of resources. The author tests several ecological theories put forth by others. Sex coalitions are examined in humans, and sexual dimorphism in resource acquisition and control is discussed.