‘Everybody always says, “Why would you have female dominance?” Well, why wouldn’t you?’ she exclaimed over Skype, with seasoned exasperation. ‘You have a placental mammal in which the cost of reproduction is borne by the female. Why would you not have a situation arise where that female would have advantages over the male?’ The answer, she believes, is if dominance is achieved by increased aggression from androgen exposure, then this comes with some costly side effects that only some species have evolved to manage and thus maintain their reproductive fitness. Other females have discovered ways
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