Sara Weaver (University of Waterloo)
I offer a feminist analysis of the aesthetic evolution hypothesis. I examine the concept of sexual coercion in the sexual selection literature, particularly the recent literature on aesthetic evolution by mate choice. I argue that sexual coercion should be understood to include both direct forms of coercion, such as physical force, as well as indirect forms, such as social arrangements that preclude the exercise of choice. This broader definition makes it easier to see the ways in which both male and female animals may make use of sexual coercion.
