Humans, just like other mammals, tend to allow greater sexual freedom for men rather than women. Furthermore, females are burdened with the majority of parenting. Do parenting costs limit sexual unrestrictedness to a different degree for males and females? The authors find that across 48 cultures, as women’s parenting costs decreased through improved physiological and economic conditions, women’s sexual unrestrictedness increased.

Does a woman’s age predict her preferences for an ideal partner? Through a cross-cultural study of heterosexual women ages 18-67 from 147 countries, the authors of this article find that age has a negligible effect on a woman’s partner preferences in general. However, they do find some relationships between age and specific preferences, such as confidence-assertiveness, intention to be a parent, and the age range deemed acceptable for a partner.

Using an evolutionary perspective, this study tests hypotheses relating gender and kinship roles to the amount of direct and indirect care provided during and around childbirth. The roles of paternal certainty, residence rules and descent groups are also examined.

This article explores biological, psychological, and social explanations for menstrual taboos. Attention is paid to the role of men in rituals associated with reproduction--i.e. before, during and after childbirth, as well as during girls' puberty rites.

This article investigates the sexual division of labor between adults and children. Data analysis suggests that children usually perform tasks appropriate for an adult of the same gender, but boys will often perform women’s tasks while girls generally do not perform men’s tasks. Thus, women tend to benefit more from children’s labor.

Using a sample of 11,538 mothers from 40 countries, this study explores the instances when maternal burnout increases. The authors suggest two hypotheses: 1) maternal burnout will increase when experiencing inequality in parenting while one holds egalitarian values, and 2) maternal burnout will increase when raising a child in a country with high levels of equality in areas besides parenting. The results support both hypotheses, showing the importance of tackling inequality at the micro and macro levels to decrease maternal burnout. In addition, the analyses show that the cross-level bivariate correlation between countries with high levels of gender equality and holding egalitarian values is positive.

This article investigates the sexual division of labor between adults and children. Data analysis suggests that children usually perform tasks appropriate for an adult of the same gender, but boys will often perform women’s tasks while girls generally do not perform men’s tasks. Thus, women tend to benefit more from children’s labor.

This article investigates the sexual division of labor between adults and children. Data analysis suggests that children usually perform tasks appropriate for an adult of the same gender, but boys will often perform women’s tasks while girls generally do not perform men’s tasks. Thus, women tend to benefit more from children’s labor.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.

After noticing that recent archaeological research has found evidence that women in pre-history were probably hunters, the authors use the ethnographic record from 63 foraging populations to explore the role of women in hunting. They explore what proportion of societies expect women to contribute to hunting, if women hunt, what proportion was opportunistic or intentional, whether women hunters were skilled, and whether women hunted with children.