news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060511/sc_space/menpaytheultimatepricetoattractwomen
And now scientists suggest a simple Darwinian reason: Competing for a mate can wear a guy out or get him killed. "Women live longer in almost every country, and the sex difference in lifespan has been recognized since at least the mid-18th century," said Daniel Kruger at the University of Michigan. The idea is presented in the spring edition of the journal Human Nature. Butting heads In common chimpanzees, Kruger and his colleague Randolph Nesse report, mortality spikes among males around age 13, just as they're old enough to breed and start competing for social status. Males of many species must fight vigorously for the right to mate.
natural selection, evolution shapes traits that help the best genes survive, sometimes to the detriment of individuals. Human males don't always have to wrestle to get a woman these days, but the pressure to succeed sexually hasn't changed much, the researchers argue. Drop your club Though society may be changing dramatically even from this generation compared to the last, some things never change. Women still have to bear the greatest burden of raising a family--giving birth--and often take on more of the day-to-day responsibilities for the ensuing 18 years. So just as in ancient times, they remain very choosy in selecting a mate.
caveman days, being good with a club was one way to get a mate. Now, the ability to purchase a blinged-out SUV has similar value, the scientists suggest. "Men compete for resources and social status, which are criteria men are valued for in mate selection," Kruger told LiveScience. Own worst enemy The pressures of mate selection might be most intense for those just coming into adulthood. And likewise the recklessness of youth, as previous researchers have suggested, is a foundation for human social systems.
Another study last year, reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, reached similar conclusions. It cited "excessive risk taking, aggression, and the suppression of emotions by boys and young men" as being directly related to lower life expectancy in men.
This idea is reinforced by data that show low social status has a greater impact on male mortality rates than on those of women: Men of lower status or who lack a mate are more likely to engage in a riskier pattern of behaviors, Kruger said.
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