Sex differences in sports interest and motivation: An evolutionary perspective.

Deaner, Robert O.; Balish, Shea M.; Lombardo, Michael P.

doi:10.1037/ebs0000049

Cited by 128 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 157 publications

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“…Consistent with the fighting hypothesis, there is a wealth of evidence that left-handers are overrepresented in combat sports. Sports are particularly relevant systems for testing theories based on intrasexual competition, as they are thought to have evolved culturally as a display for males to advertise fighting and competitive ability [13]. Overrepresentation of left-handers has been seen in boxing (where is it referred to among coaches and fans as ‘Southpaw Advantage’: [14–16], mixed martial arts or MMA [17–20], wrestling [21], Judo [22], and Karate and Taekwondo [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Richardson

Gilman

2019

Preprint

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14Left-handedness is a costly, sexually dimorphic trait found in all human populations. How the 15 handedness polymorphism is maintained is unclear. The fighting hypothesis argues that left-16 handed men have a negative frequency-dependent advantage in fighting giving them a selective 17 advantage. In support of this, many studies have found that left-handed men are overrepresented 18 in combat sports, but studies typically find no difference in fighting success between left and right-19 handed fighters. We studied over 9800 professional boxers and mixed martial arts fighters of 20 varying abilities in three of the largest samples to test this hypothesis to date, finding robust 21 evidence that left-handed fighters have greater fighting success. This held for both male and 22 female fighters and when considering percentage of fights won, and objective measures of fighting 23 ability. We replicated previous results showing the left-handed fighters are strongly 24 overrepresented in professional combat sports, but left-handed fighters did not show greater 25 variance in fighting ability, a hypothesis suggested in previous studies. Overall we find strong 26 evidence consistent with the fighting hypothesis. 27 30 population is left-handed [6] and though exact numbers vary with culture, [7] left-handers are 31 always a minority. Since left-handedness is under direct negative selection, its persistence in 32 humans is an evolutionary puzzle. 34One explanation for the persistence of left-handedness is the fighting hypothesis [8]. This argues 35 that the polymorphism in human handedness is maintained due to a negative frequency-dependent 36 advantage that left-handedness confers to males in combat (see [9] for theoretical support, and [10] 37 for a review of empirical evidence as well as alternatives). According to this theory right-handed 38 males often lack experience fighting rare left-handed males, while left-handed males accumulate 39 plenty of experience fighting right-handed males, putting them at a selective advantage. Combined 40 with the intrinsic fitness costs of left-handedness, this would explain the universal pattern of low but 41 stable levels of left-handers in all studied populations. There is mounting evidence that intrasexual 42 contest competition such as fighting has been a key component of sexual selection on human 43 males [11]. Modern males may possess adaptations to assist them in fighting and assessing 44 opponents' fighting ability [12]. Handedness could therefore be considered a sexually selected trait 45 in males, and may be expressed in females a by-product [9].48 overrepresented in combat sports. Sports are particularly relevant systems for testing theories 49 based on intrasexual competition, as they are thought to have evolved culturally as a display for 50 males to advertise fighting and competitive ability [13]. Overrepresentation of left-handers has 51 been seen in boxing (where is it referred to among coaches and fans as 'Southpaw Advantage': 52 [14-16], mixed martial arts or MMA ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Richardson

Gilman

2019

Preprint

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“…There is also evidence that individual performance within sporting contests relies on many of the same physical and mental faculties as those employed during earlier phases of human ancestry (Lombardo, 2012). Sporting competitions are ritualised interactions typically restricted to competitions within the same-sex which are often performed in front of audiences (Deaner et al, 2016). As would be predicted if sporting competitions were analogous to male-male competitions, analyses of 50 small-scale societies revealed that sports were more likely to occur between men than women or to be of mixed sex (Deaner & Smith, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contest competition and men's facial hair: beards may not provide advantages in combat

Dixson

Sherlock

Cornwell

et al. 2018

Evolution and Human Behavior

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In contemporary human societies, where direct male-male competition is reduced compared to ancestral societies, sporting competitions remains an avenue for status acquisition via intrasexual competition. Beards are the most visually salient and sexually dimorphic of men's secondary sexual traits and play a strong role in communicating masculinity, dominance and aggressiveness intra-sexually. Hypotheses have been advanced that beards provide advantages in intra-sexual combat, as protective organs and honest signals of fighting ability. Here we provide the first test of these hypotheses using data from professional mixed martial arts fighters competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. We explored whether secondary sexual traits (height, weight, beardedness), fighting stance (southpaw, orthodox), arm reach and past contest experiences impact on contest outcomes. If beards function as protective organs, bearded fighters should succumb to fewer knockouts , and hence protection to injuries to the jaw, fewer abrasions and lacerations to the face and brain damage than clean-shaven fighters. Alternatively, if beards signal fighting ability then bearded fighters should win more fights. We found no evidence that beardedness was associated with fewer losses by knockout or greater fighter ability. While fighters with longer reaches won more fights, neither stance nor past experience influenced fight outcomes. We suggest that beards represent dishonest signals of formidability that may serve to curtail the escalation of intra-sexual conflict through intimidation rather than providing advantages in direct combat.

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“…The highlighted differences in OS engagement between Portuguese boys and girls are not ambiguous, but rather unrelenting. Although it can be argued that girls' underrepresentation in OS overall reflects a lower interest (Deaner, Balish, & Lombardo, ), it was demonstrated that girls have fewer opportunities for engagement in OS, which is, in itself, a social disadvantage. Moreover, sports previously identified as preferred by girls, such as skating or badminton, are missing from the local supply, and other mixed, available sports that are also part of girls' preferences have a scarce local availability (eg, basketball, with just one female team available) (Křen et al, ; Spehar et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environment contribution to gender differences in childhood obesity and organized sports engagement

Nogueira

Pereira

Costa

et al. 2019

American J Hum Biol

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Objective This study aims to analyze gender‐specific associations between sports activity outside of school and obesity, observing to what extent the local built environment contributes to the patterns found. Methods A total of 2253 children aged 6.0‐11.0 years were assessed: 49.3% girls and 50.7% boys. Children's weight and height were measured, age and sex‐specific BMI cut‐off points were used to define normal vs overweight/obesity. Children's organized sports (OS) activity was assessed by questionnaire, and local facilities for children's engagement in OS were analyzed. Logistic regression models were computed, adjusted for confounding variables. Results Results showed greater overweight and obesity (25.1% vs 20.1%) and lower OS engagement (66.5% vs 73.8%) in girls as well as greater impact of OS engagement on weight status in girls (OR for having a normal weight = 1.434 in girls vs 1.043 in boys). Additionally, opportunities to engage in OS were scarce for girls. Conclusions The gender gap in children's weight status and OS engagement might be enhanced by an environmental mismatch that undermines girls' opportunities to play sports. There should be more opportunities for girls to engage in their favorite sports as a means to tackle the obesity epidemic and to promote gender equality.

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Sex differences in sports interest and motivation: An evolutionary perspective.

Cited by 128 publications

References 157 publications

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Left-handedness is associated with greater fighting success in humans

Contest competition and men's facial hair: beards may not provide advantages in combat

The environment contribution to gender differences in childhood obesity and organized sports engagement

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