Researching Gender-Based Competitive Behavior

Slate asks Are Men More Competitive than Women? Reviewing some of the newest research on US gender relations, Slate confirms that American men are more competitive than American women. The question is the same question as always: nature or nurture?

We don’t get an answer to that question, but a few seedlings are planted in my research interest.

Slate writer Ray Fisman follows experimental economists Uri Gneezy and John List, who teamed up with Ken Leonard, a development economist, to test whether the “male warrior” stereotype is actually a universal phenomenon.

Photo credit: Cultural Pursuits at Flickr

The researchers focused on two international societies, the patriarchal Maasai of Africa, in which wives are seen as less valuable than a man’s cattle, and the Khasi, a matrilineal culture in northern India, in which family life centers around the mother’s house and both inheritance and clan membership are passed on through daughters.

The competitive risk analysis brought different results this time. The Khasi ladies were now more competitive, lodging a vote for nurture or nature.

Not addressed in this essay is the question of hormonal balances. We know that women with higher degrees of testosterone are more competitive and inclined to take risk.

Our current work on international women’s rights, with a special ongoing interest in India, inspires me to understand the Khasi matrilineal culture within the larger context of a patriarchal contemporary culture in India.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to discover a peaceful society for women in the midst of large districts in India where more women than men say they should be beaten regularly by their husbands?

You’ll be hearing from me on this topic. Anne

Read:  Are men really more competitive than women? Slate

Read about two other matriarchal cultures, one in Mexico and the other in China:

“Blossoms of Fire”” Introducing Another Matriarchal Society, the Isthmus Zapotecs of Oaxaca, Mexico

RedTracker: The Mosuo Matriarchy as Experienced by Ricardo Coler & Sara Gouveia