Power relations: among primates, male domination is not the norm

A male monkey attacks a female who has gotten her hands on his favorite treat. Who will come out on top in this conflict? The one with the biggest muscles? Or the male, just because he's a male? Of course, the reality is more complex than that, and the correct answer is: "It depends." But it really does. In primates , the issue of power relations between the sexes is actually much more complex than previously thought, we learn this week in the scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). And it turns out that male dominance is far from the norm.

At the outset, there is this observation: clashes are very common between primates of opposite sexes. Females spend their time fighting with males, and vice versa: "In most observed populations, an individual is more likely to be involved in a conflict with an animal of the opposite sex than with an animal of the same sex,"