The biocultural evolution of the male-female mortality differential

Abstract

We aim in this paper to [outline] a theory of the human sex mortality differential that encompasses the effects of male intra-sexual selection of natural selection pressures specific to females and of environmental including sociocultural factors that mitigate or enhance the effects of evolutionary dynamics. Our focus is on the overall sex-differentiated mortality rate....We first characterize the range of the sex mortality differentials observed in recent populations and then turn to some basic aspects of evolutionary biology as well as certain environmental variables in order to provide a biocultural explanation of the differential in question. (EXCERPT)