ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at a variable—the sex ratio in a population—that lead more people to adopt a fast life history with respect to mating effort who otherwise would not. Fluctuating sex ratios across time and culture reveal truths about the nature of sex-differentiated mating strategies when one sex has to compromise with the strategy of the other due to the ratio favoring that sex. When there are significantly more women than men in a mating population (a low sex ratio) a licentious environment ensues and women most conform to a more male-like mating strategy if they are to participate in the mating game. In high sex ratio populations favoring women, men must conform to a female strategy and emphasize fidelity and parenting effort. A low sex ratio leads to many crime-inducing factors such as numerous out-of-wedlock births, single-parent homes, and poverty. Countries with a high sex ratio (approximately 120 males to 100 females and above) are inherently unstable also. Poor males must compete with wealthier males for mates and may engage in crime to acquire the resources demanded by females.
