The widespread assumption that males always take on the dominant role in primates has been refuted by new research findings. Scientists from the German Primate Center in Göttingen, the University of Montpellier and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig have investigated the power relations between males and females in 121 primate species in a large study. Their results show that clear dominance of one sex over the other is the exception.
The researchers analyzed data from 253 studies and found that conflicts between males and females are surprisingly common: Almost half of all aggressive encounters in social groups take place between the sexes. Previously, it was assumed that fights mainly took place within the same sex, for example when males compete for access to females.
Diverse power relations instead of clear dominance
For a long time, it was assumed that males generally dominated females in primates. Exceptions such as ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) or bonobos (Pan paniscus), in which the females are the dominant sex, were regarded as curiosities. However, the new study shows that this is not the case: In around 70 percent of the populations studied, there are no clear power differences between the sexes. Only 17 percent of the populations showed a clear dominance of males, while females dominated in 13 percent of cases. “Our research shows how diverse and flexible dominance relationships can be in the animal kingdom,” says Peter Kappeler, Head of the Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit at the German Primate Center.
Evolutionary factors influence the balance of power between the sexes
Female dominance mainly occurs in species where the females are monogamous, have a similar body size to the males or mainly forage for food in trees - all situations in which the females have a choice of who they mate with. Male dominance is more common in ground-dwelling species, where males are larger than females and mate with multiple females. “While males often assert their power through physical superiority, females often use alternative strategies to gain control over their mates,” says Elise Huchard from the University of Montpellier.
Implications for understanding gender roles in humans
The results are important for understanding social dynamics in animals and humans. The fact that female dominance is almost as common as male dominance and that many primate societies show no clear power asymmetries challenges traditional assumptions about the natural basis of gender roles. “The idea that human patriarchies are an inevitable inheritance from the primate world is not supported by our study,” says Kappeler.
Original Publication
Huchard E, Kappeler PM, Smit N, Fichtel C, Lukas D (2025) The evolution of male-female dominance relations in primate societies. PNAS, doi:10.1073/pnas.2500405122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2500405122
Contact
Prof. Dr. Peter Kappeler
Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology
+49 551 3851-284
