Female Scarcity Reduces Women's Marital Ages and Increases Variance in Men's Marital Ages

Abstract

When women are scarce in a population relative to men, they have greater bargaining power in romantic relationships and thus may be able to secure male commitment at earlier ages. Male motivation for long-term relationship commitment may also be higher, in conjunction with the motivation to secure a prospective partner before another male retains her. However, men may also need to acquire greater social status and resources to be considered marriageable. This could increase the variance in male marital age, as well as the average male marital age. We calculated the Operational Sex Ratio, and means, medians, and standard deviations in marital ages for women and men for the 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States with 2000 U.S Census data. As predicted, where women are scarce they marry earlier on average. However, there was no significant relationship with mean male marital ages. The variance in male marital age increased with higher female scarcity, contrasting with a non-significant inverse trend for female marital age variation. These findings advance the understanding of the relationship between the OSR and marital patterns. We believe that these results are best accounted for by sex specific attributes of reproductive value and associated mate selection criteria, demonstrating the power of an evolutionary framework for understanding human relationships and demographic patterns.

Investment in Beauty, Exercise, and Self-esteem: Are They Related to Self-perception as a Romantic Partner?

“…In men, reproductive success generally depends more on social status than it does on physical attractiveness (Kenrick et al 1990; Deter./hardwork determined/hardworking Kruger et al 2010;Pawlowski 2000;Trivers 1972). It does not indicate that men invest more heavily in beauty than women (as showed in our results that there is no difference of investment in beauty between sexes), but that the investment that men do aggregate greater benefits for their self-perception as a romantic partner that the investment that women do.…”

Perceived mate availability influences intrasexual competition, jealousy and mate-guarding behavior

“…It has been established that mate preferences can fluctuate dynamically based upon contextual cues (e.g., LI et al 2002) including one's own value as a mate (BUSS 2008). KRUGER, FITZGERALD and PETERSON (2010) found that female scarcity (relative to the number of men in large metropolitan areas in the United States) was associated with reduced marital age among women and greater variability in marital age among men. The authors suggested that when women are scarce, they have more "bargaining power" and are able to obtain commitment at earlier ages, with some men inevitably being excluded from mating opportunities altogether.…”

“Am I Good Enough for You?” Features Related to Self-Perception and Self-Esteem of Brazilians from Different Socioeconomic Status

“…In contrast, most women afford greater preference to resource ownership and/or characteristics that indicate the potential for social mobility (Brase & Guy, 2004;Buss & Shackelford, 2008;Castro et al, 2012;Castro & Lopes, 2011;Fisher et al, 2008;Geary, Vigil, & Byrd-Craven, 2004;Hattori et al, 2013;Pawlowski, 2000), such as intelligence and dedication to work, and the propensity of a man to invest in the family (Buss & Shackelford, 2008;Goodwin et al, 2012). In this way, the investment of resources in family is considered the male domain, because women have a much greater physiological investment (through pregnancy and breastfeeding) and, in most cases, maternal care (Allen & Bailey, 2007;Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Geary et al, 2004, Gutierres et al, 1999Kenrick, Sadalla, Groth, & Trost, 1990;Kruger, Fitzgerald, & Peterson, 2010;Pawlowski, 2000;Trivers, 1972).…”