Sex role--United States

Although researchers agree that humans exhibit behavioral sex differences, there
remains controversy over whether these sex differences are socially constructed or
are the product of divergent evolutionary selection pressures on the psychologies
of men and women. Through four studies, this dissertation presents evidence that
behavioral sex differences have their origin in divergent evolutionary selection
pressures and that these sex differences lead to conflict between the sexes. The
first two studies investigate a type of sexual infidelity known as human mate
poaching. The third study investigates the use of physical attractiveness as a tactic
to persuade opposite-sex individuals. The fourth study documents expressions of
hypothesized evolved psychological sex differences and sexual conflict in the
lyrics of songs from hip-hop artists. The final chapter considers a social constructivist account for the origin of behavioral sex differences and argues that
an evolutionary psychological account has greater explanatory power.

Academic and non-academic authors argue that middle-class lesbians present themselves as butch or fem less than working-class lesbians. Theorists also have argued that butch and fem were discoursed by 1970s feminist stigma but are reemerging in post-feminist decades. By analyzing "women seeking women (WSW)" personal ads, this study provides a longitudinal, quantitative analysis of the validity of these assumptions. The results suggest that middle-class lesbians were less likely to present themselves as butch or fem than working-class lesbians. Also, butch and fem were found to be much more prevalent in the 1990s than in the 1970s or 80s. Generational cohorts of WSW based on feminist political ideologies about butch and fem were not found. Prevailing cultural norms within lesbian communities appear to affect all WSW in an era. The impacts of bisexuality and race on lesbian communities are also discussed. The results are discussed using theories of gender, social class, and social movements.