Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 24, Issue 3 , Pages 173-178, May 2003

Sex differences in morphological predictors of sexual behavior:

Shoulder to hip and waist to hip ratios

Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA

Received 2 July 2002; received in revised form 22 October 2002

Abstract 

Differences exist between males and females in fat distribution, skeletal morphology, muscle mass, and body shape. We investigated sex differences in shoulder to hip ratios (SHR) and waist to hip ratios (WHR), and their relationships to different features of sexual behavior. Males with high SHR and females with low WHR reported sexual intercourse at an earlier age, more sexual partners, more extra-pair copulations (EPC), and having engaged in more instances of intercourse with people who were involved in another relationship (i.e., having themselves been EPC partners). The predictive value of these morphological features was highly sex-specific.

Keywords: Shoulder to hip ratio, Waist to hip ratio, Sexual opportunity, Sexual behavior, Mate choice, Promiscuity, Infidelity

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PII: S1090-5138(02)00149-6

doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(02)00149-6

Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 24, Issue 3 , Pages 173-178, May 2003

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