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Depictions of Inter-Sexual Mate Competition in Late-Georgian England
Paul L Vasey1, Scott W Semenyna2
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada. paul.vasey@uleth.ca.
Abstract:
Competition between the sexes for the same sexual partners has been documented in different species, various cultures, and in the historical record. Here, we extend this evidence by discussing two visual representations of inter-sexual mate competition produced in England during the late-Georgian era (c. 1820). We interpreted these depictions through the lens of an established evolutionary taxonomy of mate competition tactics. Members of late-Georgian England appear to have understood that the sexes were capable of competing with each other for female sexual targets.
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