Sex stereotypes are not as simple as we think ; thus, men do not always want to have an important range of sexual partners and women always a stable relationship. This belief, based on the concepts of Charles Darwin and the promiscuity of males to guarantee offspring, has been dismantled by research carried out at the University of Utah (USA) with indigenous Makushi in Guyana.
The truth is that men are much more likely to compromise when women are scarce . To confirm this hypothesis, the scientists interviewed 300 Makushi men and women between the ages of 18 and 45 in eight rural communities during 2010-2011, with a ratio of 90-140 men for every 100 women. They used the “Socioexual Orientation Inventory” test to find out which individuals would be more inclined to have sex without commitment and which ones would not.
The results of the questionnaires revealed that Makushi men were more willing to engage in non-committed sex than women (as indicated by the sexual stereotype) but they were also more likely to want committed relationships when fewer women were available, regardless of age have these. Women, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to changes and did not always prefer commitment regardless of whether there were more or fewer men available for marriage.
“ Commitment to a relationship is influenced by the availability of partners . So we can think of the number of males and females in a population as a potential mating market where the principles of supply and demand continue to prevail ”, explains Ryan Schacht, study leader to the Royal Society Open Science journal.
The study puts on the table that men are interested in sporadic sexual adventures only and exclusively when there are enough women available . However, if they are scarce, they try to stay with a single partner and have stability with her.
Logically these results cannot be extrapolated to western industrialized societies, but “they can give us some clues about human behavior : for women in urban settings (with many potential partners at their fingertips) it can be difficult to find one willing to settle down, while that those in rural areas (where the possibilities are less) may find it easier ”, clarifies Schacht.
