The development of human female competition: allies and adversaries

Abstract

Throughout their lives, women provide for their own and their children's and grandchildren's needs and thus must minimize their risk of incurring physical harm. Alliances with individuals who will assist them in attaining these goals increase their probability of survival and reproductive success. High status in the community enhances access to physical resources and valuable allies. Kin, a mate, and affines share a mother's genetic interests, whereas unrelated women constitute primary competitors. From early childhood onwards, girls compete using strategies that minimize the risk of retaliation and reduce the strength of other girls. Girls' competitive strategies include avoiding direct interference with another girl's goals, disguising competition, competing overtly only from a position of high status in the community, enforcing equality within the female community and socially excluding other girls.

Female competition and aggression: interdisciplinary perspectives

“…By contrast, women's use of social exclusion (rather than outright physical aggression) provides an effective form of punishment with minimal energetic expenditure or risk of physical injury [101,102,104]. Rather than inflicting costly punishment, deviants can be effectively controlled by indirect means such as refusal to cooperate with them, destruction of their reputation (so that others will also refuse cooperation) and, ultimately, exclusion from the group.…”

“…Escalated physical conflicts of this kind between women are rarer. This is not to say that women do not seek to exert control over others' behaviour, but typically girls learn to achieve this in subtle ways designed to avoid direct confrontation [101]. Girls, who fail to adjust their behaviour in response to these covert 'requests', can be (subtly) threatened with friendship withdrawal and social exclusion.…”

“…Notably though, it has been argued that females of some species may be less likely than males to engage in ritualized displays, and more likely to engage in high-risk fighting tactics leading to injury or death in direct contests for particularly valuable resources [36,97]. More commonly, competitive interactions may often be so subtle as to go unnoticed in behavioural observations, with conflict resolution based on threats and indirect aggression rather than direct combat (see contributions to this issue by Pusey & Schroepfer-Walker [86], Benenson [101], Campbell [102], Cant & Young [103] and Vaillancourt [104]). As discussed below, female competitive interactions include a broad repertoire of aggressive strategies, tailored to social conditions at both population and individual levels.…”

“…Men find dominance or status less attractive in a prospective mate than do women [105], which may contribute to women's less overt striving for rank. When competition escalates in intensity, it typically involves the use of indirect aggression such as reputational attack, stigmatization and exclusion (see contributions to this issue from Benenson [101], Campbell [102] and Vaillancourt [104]). …”

“…Because harm is delivered circuitously and because it is executed simultaneously by several members of the community, it is a low-risk strategy. Benenson [101], Vaillancourt [104] and Campbell [102] explore the advantages of such indirect forms of aggression for women. The strong bonds between women and their emotional interdependence make victimization by indirect aggression a particularly painful experience, leading to depression and even suicide [101].…”