We highlight evolutionary psychological perspectives on sexual coercion, with consideration to hypotheses regarding evolved mechanisms for both males and females. We suggest that over evolutionary history, the possibility of being raped is liable to have been a particularly costly adaptive risk for females relative to the potential adaptive gains for men of being able to impose their will by forcing sexual intercourse. We therefore expect that clearer evidence can be found in women for evolved psychological mechanisms designed to limit the costs of such forced sexual mating than evidence supporting the existence of specialized mechanisms in men. A growing body of research on females' counteradaptations designed to minimize the cost imposed by males' coercion, including studies on the effects of ovulatory cycle status, indeed largely supports the existence of evolved specialized mechanisms in females designed to avoid being sexually coerced. Furthermore, we do find some supportive evidence for the possibility that for males, sexual arousal to force may be an evolved specialized mechanism that under certain conditions may serve as an approach emotion designed to increase the likelihood of engaging in sexually coercive behavior. We outline a model, the
evolutionary functional
model, whichconsiders the possibility that some perceived negative reactions from females may calibratethis mechanism for some men in a direction more conducive to engaging in coercion. We summarize how this model has fared in its predictions in contrast to other models focusing only on proximate causes as well as to a by‐product evolutionary model.