It’s not uncommon for women to gossip to get what they want. But now, a new research can officially confirm that women will use this tactic – or ‘indirect aggression’ – to fight-off potential rivals.
According to Dr Tracy Vaillancourt of University of Ottawa, women use this strategy against attractive, sexually available peers in the mating game. Writing in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Vaillancourt says that criticizing their competitors appearance or spreading rumors about their behavior, is a common and effective approach among girls and women in their peak of reproductive value.
“Indirect aggression serves an individual’s goal is by reducing her same sex rivals’ ability, or desire, to compete for mates,” she says.
According to the Daily Mail:
Studies have shown being physically attractive puts women at risk of being indirectly victimized by other females. In addition, there is evidence females are intolerant of same sex peers who are perceived as too sexually available.
This could be because sex is a limited resource women use to negotiate with men and scarcity gives women an advantage.
Dr Vaillancourt says that it is females, not males, who suppress the sexuality of other females; and they do so by ostracizing and spreading nasty rumors about the person. Based on Vaillancourt’s research, results show that 52% of 15-year-old girls use indirect aggression compared to one in five of boys of the same age. This tactic is also used to reduce their chances of putting themselves at risk of physical danger as the aggressor can make it appear as if there was ‘no intention to hurt at all’.
“Females punish other females who seem to make sex too readily available using indirect aggression,” says Dr Vaillancourt.
In an experiment, young women were assigned in pairs with either an attractive female dressed in sexy clothing or in a conservative manner. The video recordings show that majority of the participants who engaged in indirect aggression were assigned to the sexy woman. The experiment concluded that sexier, attractive women are seen as a sexual rival among females.
Vaillancourt adds that although indirect aggression may be effective, derogation of a rival may make you look judgmental. In return, it may inadvertently lower your own self-esteem and mate value. So, before you choose enlighten your partner about what terrible person that girl in a Hervé Léger dress may be, think about how it makes you look first.
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