Stranger than fiction: wars are caused by male sex drive

It is men who cause war and conflict, not women. Dick Skellington looks at the latest research.

The male sex drive is the cause of nearly all conflict in the world, from football violence to wars between nation states, according to scientists at the Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University.

The psychological study found that evolutionary influences shape the male to be aggressive to outsiders. This aggression has emerged over the epochs as we compete for mates. The scientists argue that this aggression drives much natural selection. The scientists claim that the outcomes of this dominant evolutionary trend can be seen in gang rivalries and inter-tribal violence, and especially in religious conflicts.

Women, on the other hand, have evolved a tendency towards peaceful co-existence, in the scientists' phrase, women are programmed to ‘tend and befriend’ in order to protect their offspring providing them with a greater chance of survival.

The study's findings are an example of the 'Male Warrior Hypothesis' in contemporary evolutionary anthropology. This suggests that men are more likely than women to discriminate against others considered outsiders, a tendency apparent across different time periods and cultures.
Over history conflict between rival groups of men provides opportunities to gain access to mates, territory and increased status. Under this theory natural selection in an evolved psychology amongst men initiates aggression.
Emily Cousens, Sarah Pine and Ali Johnson, representatives of the Wadham Feminists, argue that such a theory is misplaced. Society creates and constructs what we think of as masculine and feminine and encourages and rewards different traits amongst males and females. They contend this does not necessarily have a biological basis.
If the research in Oxford is credible it might explain the persistence of conflict as these mindsets become transfixed. They seem relatively resistant to change, according to the researchers. So it seems, if we can rely on the boffins from Oxford, then war and violent conflict sadly will always be with us, especially in those societies, such as Syria, where women are subjugated through centuries of religious dogma, and of course it might help to explain the resistance of a male dominated Anglican Church in England to women bishops.
 

The views expressed in this post, as in all posts on Society Matters, are the views of the author, not The Open University.

Cartoon by Gary Edwards.