Sex Differences in Overhand Throwing are Completely Due to Socialization: A Blank Slate “Hypothesis” Unconstrained by Evidence

Alex, B. (2023, June 28). Worldwide survey kills the myth of ‘Man the Hunter.’ Science. https://www.science.org/content/article/worldwide-survey-kills-myth-man-hunter

Anderson, A., Chilczuk, S., Nelson, K., Ruther, R., & Wall-Scheffler, C. (2023). The myth of Man the Hunter: Women’s contribution to the hunt across ethnographic contexts. PLOS ONE, 18(6), e0287101. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287101

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Berenbaum, S. A., & Beltz, A. M. (2011). Sexual differentiation of human behavior: Effects of prenatal and pubertal organizational hormones. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 32(2), 183–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2011.03.001

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Butterfield, S. A., & Loovis, E. M. (1993). Influence of age, sex, balance, and sport participation on development of throwing by children in grades K–8. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76(2), 459–464. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1993.76.2.459

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Churchill, S. E., & Trinkaus, E. (1990). Neandertal scapular glenoid morphology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 83(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330830203

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1999). The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles. American Psychologist, 54(6), 408–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.6.408

Article  Google Scholar 

Edsall, T. B. (2019, January 17). The fight over men is shaping our political future. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/apa-guidelines-men-boys.html

Ehl, T., Roberton, M. A., & Langendorfer, S. J. (2005). Does the throwing gender gap occur in Germany? Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 76(4), 488–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2005.10599322

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Fausto-Sterling, A. (1985). Myths of gender: Biological theories about women and men. Basic Books.

Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000). Sexing the body: Gender politics and the construction of sexuality. Basic Books.

Fausto-Sterling, A. (2025). Throwing like a girl: A critique of past approaches and an illustrated proposal for a path forward. Biology of Sex Differences, 16, 77. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00759-8

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Ferguson, C. J. (2023). The American Psychological Association’s practice guidelines for men and boys: Are they hurting rather than helping male mental wellness? New Ideas in Psychology, 68, 100984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2022.100984

Article  Google Scholar 

Fine, C. (2010). Delusions of gender: How our minds, society, and neurosexism create difference. W. W. Norton & Company.

Geary, D. C. (2020). Male, female: The evolution of human sex differences (3rd ed.). American Psychological Association.

H Hagen, E. (2026). grasshoppermouse/koster2020hunting: Initial release (Version v0.0.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18645441. [Computer software].

Article  Google Scholar 

Horowitz, J. M., & Parker, K. (2024, October 17). How Americans see men and masculinity. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/10/17/how-americans-see-men-and-masculinity/

Humphrey, L. T. (1998). Growth patterns in the modern human skeleton. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 105(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644::AID-AJPA6>3.0.CO;2-A.

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Koster, J., McElreath, R., Hill, K., Yu, D., Shepard, G., van Vliet, N., Gurven, M., Trumble, B., Bird, R. B., Bird, D., Codding, B., Coad, L., Pacheco-Cobos, L., Winterhalder, B., Lupo, K., Schmitt, D., Sillitoe, P., Franzen, M., Alvard, M., & Ross, C. (2020). The life history of human foraging: Cross-cultural and individual variation. Science Advances, 6(26), eaax9070. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax9070

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Le Page, M. (2023, June 28). The myth that men hunt while women stay at home is entirely wrong. New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2380011-the-myth-that-men-hunt-while-women-stay-at-home-is-entirely-wrong/

Lombardo, M. P., & Deaner, R. O. (2018a). Born to throw: The ecological causes that shaped the evolution of throwing in humans. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 93(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1086/696721

Article  Google Scholar 

Lombardo, M. P., & Deaner, R. O. (2018b). On the evolution of the sex differences in throwing: Throwing is a male adaptation in humans. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 93(2), 91–119. https://doi.org/10.1086/698225

Article  Google Scholar 

Low, B. S. (1989). Cross-cultural patterns in the training of children: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 103(4), 311–319. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7036.103.4.311

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Nuzzo, J. L., & Pinto, M. D. (2025). Sex differences in upper- and lower-limb muscle strength in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Sport Science, 25(5), e12282. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12282

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Ocobock, C., & Lacy, S. (2023, November 1). The theory that men evolved to hunt and women evolved to gather is wrong. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-theory-that-men-evolved-to-hunt-and-women-evolved-to-gather-is-wrong1/

Parker, K., Horowitz, J. M., & Stepler, R. (2017, December 5). Americans are divided on whether differences between men and women are rooted in biology or societal expectations. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/12/05/americans-are-divided-on-whether-differences-between-men-and-women-are-rooted-in-biology-or-societal-expectations/

Pinker, S. (2002). The blank slate: The modern denial of human nature. Viking.

Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., McClearn, G. E., & McGuffin, P. (2008). Behavioral genetics (5th ed.). Worth.

Sowell, T. (1995). The vision of the anointed. Basic Books.

Stewart-Williams, S. (2026). A billion years of sex differences: How evolution shaped the minds of men and women. Swift.

Thomas, J. R., & French, K. E. (1985). Gender differences across age in motor performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 260–282. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.260

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Thomas, J. R., Michael, D., & Gallagher, J. D. (1994). Effects of training on gender differences in overhand throwing: A brief quantitative literature analysis. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 65(1), 67–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1994.10762209

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Thomas, J. R., Alderson, J. A., Thomas, K. T., Campbell, A. C., & Elliott, B. C. (2010). Developmental gender differences for overhand throwing in Aboriginal Australian children. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 81(4), 432–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2010.10599704

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1992). The psychological foundations of culture. In J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 19–136). Oxford University Press.

Turkheimer, E. (2000). Three laws of behavior genetics and what they mean. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(5), 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00084

Article  Google Scholar 

Venkataraman, V. V., Hoffman, J., Farquharson, K., Davis, H. E., Hagen, E. H., Hames, R. B., Hewlett, B. S., Glowacki, L., Jang, H., Kelly, R., Kramer, K., Lew-Levy, S., Starkweather, K., Syme, K., & Stibbard-Hawkes, D. N. E. (2024). Female foragers sometimes hunt, yet gendered divisions of labor are real: A comment on Anderson et al. (2023) The myth of Man the Hunter. Evolution and Human Behavior, 45(4), 106586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.04.014

Article  Google Scholar 

Weisberger, M. (2023, June 30). Shattering the myth of men as hunters and women as gatherers. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/30/world/women-roles-hunter-gatherer-societies-scn

West-Eberhard, M. J. (2003). Developmental plasticity and evolution. Oxford University Press.

Winegard, B. M., Winegard, B. M., & Deaner, R. O. (2014). Misrepresentations of evolutionary theory in sex and gender textbooks. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(3), 474–508. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491401200301

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Comments (0)

No login
gif