This article examines the relationship between polygynous living quarter arrangements and the presence or absence of circumcision and segregation of males at puberty. The amount of contact between the father and son is also examined as a factor.

The purpose of this article is to examine circumcision and segregation of males at puberty. It is suggested that when the son has insufficient contact with his father due to the separation caused by polygynous relationships, the son may develop a feminine personality. The significance of this is compared with the significance of a close mother-son relationship.

This study investigates correlates of the post-partum sex taboo. Empirical analysis identifies several predictors, from extensive agriculture to localized kin groups. The authors suggest that the taboo imposes a burden on women and unmarried or monogamous young men, and it is best maintained in a community in which elders are in firm control and married women are considered outsiders due to village exogamy.

This study is a comprehensive analysis of female and male genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C and MGM/C) practices, including their history and socio-ecological correlates, using a phylogenetic cross-cultural framework. It employed two global ethnographic samples, the Ethnographic Atlas (EA) and the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), and two subsets of the phylogeny (supertree) of human populations based on genetic and linguistic data, to investigate the variables that may have led to the introduction of these practices, and to determine where and when they may have originated. The study suggests that MGM/C probably originated in polygynous societies with separate residence for co-wives, supporting a mate-guarding function, and that FGM/C likely originated subsequently and almost exclusively in societies already practicing MGM/C, where it may have become a signal of chastity. Both practices are believed to have originated multiple times, some as early as in the mid-Holocene (5,000–7,000 years ago). The study posits that GM/C co-evolves with and may help maintain fundamental social structures and that the high fitness costs of FGM/C are offset by social benefits, such as enhanced marriageability and social capital.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural male initiation rites findings pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

This book investigates a broad hypothesis linking social solidarity and initiation ceremonies. The author proposes that “the degree of solidarity of a given social system determines the degree to which status transitions within it will be dramatized” (1). A variety of operational hypotheses are supported for both male and female initiation ceremonies.

This article uses factor analysis to identify the key variables underlying the many cross-cultural associations reported by Textor (1967). Twelve factors are identified.

This article examines two hypotheses concerning the length of the post-partum sex taboo. Analysis suggests that both animal husbandry (with consumption of domestic animals’ milk) and monogamy (which restricts men’s options for sexual partners) are inversely associated with the length of the post-partum sex taboo.

This article examines the "sexual conflict" hypothesis which predicts that male genital mutilation should be associated with polygyny and a reduction in the frequency of extramarital sex. Male genital mutilation (MGM) rituals should be highly public and facilitate access to social benefits. Support for these assumptions is provided.