Why do the males always initiate mating rituals?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the question of why males typically initiate mating rituals in the animal kingdom, exploring various species and the implications of mating behaviors. Participants examine the roles of different sexes in reproduction, the concept of resource investment, and cultural perspectives on mating in humans.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that while males often initiate mating rituals, this is not universal across all species, citing exceptions like Syngnathus typhie.
  • There is a suggestion that the sex investing more resources in offspring (often females) tends to be more selective in mate choice, while the less-investing sex (often males) may seek to mate with multiple partners.
  • One participant argues that human mating behaviors have changed due to birth control, which may equalize the costs associated with mating.
  • Another participant cautions against anthropocentric views, emphasizing that cultural factors influence human mating choices and referencing matrilineal societies as counterexamples.
  • Concerns are raised about the lack of female courtship behavioral studies, with some participants expressing surprise at the predominance of male-focused research in this area.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the universality of male initiation in mating rituals, with some acknowledging exceptions and others emphasizing cultural influences in human behavior. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the implications of these behaviors across species and cultures.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the definitions of mating behaviors, the scope of species considered, and the reliance on specific cultural examples that may not represent broader trends.

Navin
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Be it the dancing peakock or the head bobbing lovebird, or the suicidal Praying mantis.
Why do males initiate mating first in animal

If my above statement is wrong...yoo hoo yay equality !
I don't know all those Nat Geo and Discovery Shows made me think of thisEdit 1

Since people are questioning if i have done any reasearch (which i have) here !

https://www.britannica.com/topic/courtship

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053057

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3458092/

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4761381These were the articles i read when i searched on courship behaviour and most of them were Male.
There was a lack of female courtship behavioural studies which surprized me.Then i remebered about how on various Nat Geo shows i saw only males doing funny mating action and females not doing much.
Then i poated this article.

Am i still Guilty Your Honour ? Has the Joury Past My Innocence ?
 
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Navin said:
If my above statement is wrong...yoo hoo yay equality !
<< Post edited by Mentors after OP went back and added links to his first post >>

If your above statement is wrong, you have posted a message here without doing any effort of your own to determine if it is true.

Two words: Syngnathus typhie.
 
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Navin said:
Be it the dancing peakock or the head bobbing lovebird, or the suicidal Praying mantis.
Why do males initiate mating first in animal

Not always, but in most species.

Often, sexes are not spending the same resources when it comes to breeding, one sex is "investing" significantly more energy/time/other resources into children. (Usually it's females, but there are a number of exceptions).

Whichever sex that is, its optimal strategy is to be more careful, picky in selecting a mate (because "it costs a lot" to have a child, better make it count), whereas the other sex's optimal strategy is to procreate with maximum possible number of mates (since it's "cheap").
 
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Th
nikkkom said:
Not always, but in most species.

Often, sexes are not spending the same resources when it comes to breeding, one sex is "investing" significantly more energy/time/other resources into children. (Usually it's females, but there are a number of exceptions).

Whichever sex that is, its optimal strategy is to be more careful, picky in selecting a mate (because "it costs a lot" to have a child, better make it count), whereas the other sex's optimal strategy is to procreate with maximum possible number of mates (since it's "cheap").
Thank you so much
 
Vanadium 50 said:
If your above statement is wrong, you have posted a message here without doing any effort of your own to determine if it is true. This is lazy, and deeply disrespectful of others' time. How much less valuable is our time than yours?

Two words: Syngnathus typhie.
<< Post edited by a Mentor to remove a mild insult >>

I aldredy found Syngnathus typhie by the way but apart from that (and maybe the Bonobo) there was not a lot of other names i had come up to.
Plus this site is more reliable...so learn not what the fond eye doth teach.
 
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Why do the males always initiate mating rituals ?
They don't in Humans; especially since the availability of birth control measures. That tends to equalize the 'Costs'. :biggrin:
 
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No. We are getting too much anthropocentric speculation in this thread. And a lot of what was said about humans is culture centric. Let's not do this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis - no males involved at all in animal reproduction

Do a search for Hopi matrilineal, Navajo matrilineal, Iroquois matrilineal. Matriarchal also provides lots of counterexamples to 'who detetermines what' in human mating choices.

Next time please provide references.
 
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