Did Our Ancestors Choose Their Mates?
Responding to a common challenge to evolutionary explanations for mate preferences
This is the latest excerpt from my book A Billion Years of Sex Differences, released on June 4. You can access the full collection here, and pick up a copy of the book here.
In this installment, I tackle a common objection to evolutionary explanations for human mate preferences: the idea that our ancestors didn’t choose their own mates, because marriages were arranged and women were often coerced into relationships. Among other things, we’ll look at:
How arranged marriage can coexist with individual mate choice
Why mate preferences aren’t relevant only at the start of a relationship
How affairs and elopements may have helped shape human evolution
Why humans may have stronger mate preferences than other animals
How parental interference may help explain the evolution of romantic love