Michelle
Russell
English 300
3/26/12
Sexual Jealousy In Relationships: The Difference Between Genders Jealousy comes in many forms, but the most common one associated with today is sexual jealousy between opposite sex’s in relationships. In other words, sexual jealousy that happens between heterosexual couples. In the article “ Sex Differences in Contexts of Extreme Jealousy” written by Brad J. Sagarin and Rosanna E. Guadagno, explains Sexual Jealousy between heterosexual couples, and how each jealousy is completely different between each gender. But how would a relationship work between a man and a woman that involves sexual jealousy? If heterosexual couples want their relationship to work, then heterosexual couples have to get past sexual jealousy in order to obtain a healthy, happy, long lasting relationship. Sexual jealousy in heterosexual couples is a form of jealousy that tends to make the other partner jealous through one’s actions. For instance, say a girl’s boyfriend has been hanging out with another girl recently. The girlfriend may be cautious because the girlfriend mentally gets the idea that he likes the girl that he has been hanging out with, or the girl is so much prettier than the girlfriend is. As a result, because of the boyfriend’s action with hanging out with the other girl and not his mate, the girlfriend has sexual jealousy towards the girl he has been hanging out with because the girlfriend see’s the girl as being a threat and ruining their relationship. Another example is a similar incident that happened to a friend of mine. My friend June is really good friends with a guy named Anthony and Anthony is going out with June’s cousin, who lives in Fresno. Since Anthony has been hanging out with June so much, June’s cousin got jealous because she got the idea that Anthony was starting to like June. Since Anthony’s actions of just hanging out with June, June’s cousin had sexual jealousy because she saw June as a threat to their relationship. Therefore, by a mates action such as hanging out with the opposite sex, can make the other partner in heterosexual couples sexually jealous since the partner see’s their mates “friend” as a threat to their relationship. When it comes to sexual jealousy, males in heterosexual relationships on the other hand, are very different on have they behave. According to Sagarin and Guadagno, “ Male sexual jealousy evolved as an adaptive solution to the specter of paternal uncertainty (319).” In other words, meaning that men are more worried about the physical part in sexual jealousy. For example, men are more worried about their female partner cheating on them, kissing, or having sex with another male. Sexual Jealousy of males on the other hand, have a tendency that is very protective over their mate. According to my Psychology teacher, the professor explains that males know how other males are. Other males are attracted to what they see and they do not care if the woman is in a relationship or not. So a male in a relationship feels the need to protect his mate from other males which can be a positive or a negative depending on the female in the relationship. But if heterosexual couples in the relationship want to have a long lasting relationship, then males need to learn to trust their mate. Females in heterosexual relationships, when it also comes to sexual jealousy, are more focused on the emotional aspect of sexual jealousy. For example, women are very emotional people, so when they see their partner with another woman they tend to think that their mate likes the other woman they are hanging around or developing feeling for them. According to Sagarin and Guadagno, “Women tend to report greater jealousy in response to an