In his theorizing on the evolution of species, Darwin showed that, in addition to natural selection, animals have “ornaments” used to attract the opposite sex (such as the colored feathers of the peacock) and “weapons” to face individuals of the same sex in search of a sexual partner (like the horns of oxen).
After gathering evidence in humans and other lineages, Darwin concluded in 1871 that sexual selection may have influenced the improvement of human artistic abilities, among other abilities. In a similar way to animals, humans use different strategies to attract mates and intimidate competitors and some of them can be their artistic and athletic skills, such as resourcefulness on the guitar or performance in soccer.
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between the components of sexual selection and the artistic and athletic inclinations of men and women.
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Overall, the study found slightly different dynamics in each sport and for each sex. Women may be using their artistic gifts as ornaments to attract mates a little more than men, who have the arts more as a weapon in the competition for mates.
