Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36379954›Full record

ReviewNature communications2022

The history of sexual selection research provides insights as to why females are still understudied.

Malin Ah-King

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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  7. Review
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  11. Is variation in female aggressiveness acrossProceedings. Biological sciences · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Eviction-driven infanticide and sexually selected adoption and infanticide in a neotropical parrot.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Long-term effects of neonatal pain and sucrose treatment.Current research in pharmacology and drug discovery · 2024
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Malin Ah-KingDepartment of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden. Malin.Ah-King@gender.su.se.ORCID 0000-0001-7108-2275

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

While it is widely acknowledged that Darwin's descriptions of females were gender-biased, gender bias in current sexual selection research is less recognized. An examination of the history of sexual selection research shows prevalent male precedence-that research starts with male-centered investigations or explanations and thereafter includes female-centered equivalents. In comparison, the incidence of female precedence is low. Furthermore, a comparison between the volume of publications focusing on sexual selection in males versus in females shows that the former far outnumber the latter. This bias is not only a historical pattern; sexual selection theory and research are still male-centered-due to conspicuous traits, practical obstacles, and continued gender bias. Even the way sexual selection is commonly defined contributes to this bias. This history provides an illustrative example by which we can learn to recognize biases and identify gaps in knowledge. I conclude with a call for the scientific community to interrogate its own biases and suggest strategies for alleviating biases in this field and beyond.

Indexed as

Biological EvolutionSexual SelectionFemaleHumansMalePhenotypeSelection, GeneticSexism

Identifiers

PMID36379954
PMCPMC9666445

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.