Lawson David W, Alami Sarah, Somefun Oluwaseyi Dolapo
Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, USA.
The School of Collective Intelligence, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco.
Evol Hum Sci. 2023 Apr 24;5:e12. doi: 10.1017/ehs.2023.8. eCollection 2023.
Sexual conflict is a thriving area of animal behaviour research. Yet parallel research in the evolutionary human sciences remains underdeveloped and has become mired by controversy. In this special collection, we aim to invigorate the study of fitness-relevant conflicts between women and men, advocating for three synergistic research priorities. First, we argue that a commitment to diversity is required to innovate the field, achieve ethical research practice, and foster fruitful dialogue with neighbouring social sciences. Accordingly, we have prioritised issues of diversity as editors, aiming to stimulate new connections and perspectives. Second, we call for greater recognition that human sex/gender roles and accompanying conflict behaviours are both subject to natural selection and culturally determined. This motivates our shift in terminology from sexual to gendered conflict when addressing human behaviour, countering stubborn tendencies to essentialise differences between women and men and directing attention to the role of cultural practices, normative sanctions and social learning in structuring conflict battlegrounds. Finally, we draw attention to contemporary policy concerns, including the wellbeing consequences of marriage practices and the gendered implications of market integration. Focus on these themes, combined with attendance to the dangers of ethnocentrism, promises to inform culturally sensitive interventions promoting gender equality worldwide.
性冲突是动物行为研究中一个蓬勃发展的领域。然而，进化人类科学领域的平行研究仍不发达，且陷入了争议之中。在这个专题论文集中，我们旨在振兴对男性和女性之间与适应性相关冲突的研究，倡导三个相辅相成的研究重点。首先，我们认为要创新该领域、实现符合伦理的研究实践并促进与邻近社会科学的富有成效的对话，就需要致力于多样性。因此，作为编辑，我们将多样性问题列为优先事项，旨在激发新的联系和观点。其次，我们呼吁人们更多地认识到，人类的性/性别角色以及随之而来的冲突行为既受自然选择的影响，也由文化决定。这促使我们在探讨人类行为时，将术语从性冲突转变为性别冲突，以对抗将男女差异本质化的顽固倾向，并引导人们关注文化习俗、规范性制裁和社会学习在构建冲突战场中的作用。最后，我们提请关注当代政策问题，包括婚姻习俗对幸福的影响以及市场一体化的性别影响。关注这些主题，并注意到民族中心主义的危害，有望为促进全球性别平等的具有文化敏感性的干预措施提供信息。
