TY - JOUR
T1 - The Behavioral Ecology of Sex Tourism
T2 - The Consequences of Skewed Sex Ratios
AU - Kock, Florian
N1 - Epub ahead of print. Published online: 11. August 2020
PY - 2020/8/11
Y1 - 2020/8/11
N2 - The operational sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of reproductive-age females to males in a population) shapes both animal and human behavior in important ways. Drawing on research in evolution and ecology, the author proposes that a local male-skewed sex ratio (i.e., a surplus of males) influences local men’s attitudes toward sex tourism. Analyzing historical field (study 1) and experimental data (study 2), the author demonstrates that male-skewed sex ratios increase men’s sex tourism rationalization and intent, while women’s predispositions are not sensitive to sex ratios. Sex tourism is explained as a subconscious ecological plasticity in response to perceived increased intensities of same-sex competition for mates, signaled by male-skewed sex ratios. The findings demonstrate a link between mating ecologies and sex tourism, with the latter serving as a compensatory behavior of same-sex mating competition. This research contributes a novel, biological perspective on sex tourism with implications for future research and practice.
AB - The operational sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of reproductive-age females to males in a population) shapes both animal and human behavior in important ways. Drawing on research in evolution and ecology, the author proposes that a local male-skewed sex ratio (i.e., a surplus of males) influences local men’s attitudes toward sex tourism. Analyzing historical field (study 1) and experimental data (study 2), the author demonstrates that male-skewed sex ratios increase men’s sex tourism rationalization and intent, while women’s predispositions are not sensitive to sex ratios. Sex tourism is explained as a subconscious ecological plasticity in response to perceived increased intensities of same-sex competition for mates, signaled by male-skewed sex ratios. The findings demonstrate a link between mating ecologies and sex tourism, with the latter serving as a compensatory behavior of same-sex mating competition. This research contributes a novel, biological perspective on sex tourism with implications for future research and practice.
KW - Behavioral ecology
KW - Evolutionary psychology
KW - Human mating
KW - Sex ratio
KW - Sex tourism
KW - Behavioral ecology
KW - Revolutionary psychology
KW - Human mating
KW - Sex ratio
KW - Sex tourism
UR - https://sfx-45cbs.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/45cbs?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info:sid/sfxit.com:azlist&sfx.ignore_date_threshold=1&rft.object_id=954921364519
U2 - 10.1177/0047287520946106
DO - 10.1177/0047287520946106
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85089287107
JO - Journal of Travel Research
JF - Journal of Travel Research
SN - 0047-2875
ER -