Why is it that men are violent toward Women?

Mate Guarding

Do not take things for granted. Question the Hell out of LIFE! Lately their has been a lot of stories and articles on violence toward women. Here is one explanation it is only part of the problemor answer but lets have a go at it.

 Why is it that men are violent toward Women?

                 Many species—including our own—engage in what biologists term “mate guarding,” whereby males in particular stay home and alert to defend “their” females’ honor—actually, their own paternity—from the threat posed by other sexually active males. But were ovulation to be clearly signaled, males would be free to abandon their mates, without fear that while gallivanting, they might be cuckolded by other males following the same strategy.

Why is ovulation by females signalled then like in many other species? And why do females character change and dependent on their mate’s status during their most fertile periods. A great article from Rollo Tomassi explains this nicely:

“At their most fertile period, these women are less likely to feel close to their mates and more likely to find fault with them than women mated to more sexually desirable men, the research shows.

A woman evaluates her relationship differently at different times in her cycle, and her evaluation seems to be colored by how sexually attractive she perceives her partner to be,” said Martie Haselton, a professor of psychology and communication studies at UCLA and senior author of the study.

Through a series of high-profile studies, Haselton’s lab has revealed telling changes that take place in women’s behavior during ovulation. Possibly to increase the odds of attracting suitable mating partners, these behaviors include a tendency to dress up and to speak in a higher-pitched, more feminine voice and — in a potential inbreeding-avoidance mechanism — to refrain from contact with male kin. In addition, the lab has found that women whose mates are less sexy and masculine tend to be more attracted to other men during the few fertile days leading up to ovulation.

The researchers found that women mated to the less sexually attractive men were significantly more likely to find fault with their partners and, again, feel less close to their partners during the high-fertility period than the low-fertility period. Women who rated their mates as more sexually attractive, meanwhile, did not exhibit these changes and instead reported being more satisfied with their relationship at high fertility than at low fertility.”

Really powerful stuff thanks Rollo.

Men until quite recently (DNA Testing) have never known for certain if that child is their own. Women naturally never have that problem. Thus mate guarding and its brother jealousy have evolved into an art form. Some societies take it to the extreme: thus the covering of women, their restriction in movement, their chaperoning, and their denying of real freedom. But all societies practise it to a certain extent.

Men often display mate guarding and jealousy by aggression, violence, and vigilance or they will increase their display of wealth or resources or all of the above.

Women also mate guard but they are much more subtle. They strive to maintain or enhance their physical attractiveness and or they use their well-developed verbal and communication skills to let potential rivals know that their man is committed to them and them alone. Sometimes but only rarely will women resort to violence.

Just because this explains it (Natural Fallacy) does not by any means mean that we have to condone it. On the contrary it should help us to mitigate its effects on our community. Let us strive to lower all levels of violence and intimidation of women.

I have a section in my book (A letter to My Daughters) which examines this and the alarming statistics on violence toward women in Australia.