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An Animal Kingdom Take On The Study Abroad Question

We're still looking for a satisfying working theory for why nearly twice as many women as men study abroad. The Washington Post's Travel Log couldn't offer any explanations, but commenters over there put forth the hypotheses that women are more mature and that college sports participation might disproportionately affect men. But according to Satoshi Kanazawa of Psychology Today's The Scientific Fundamentalist blog, it's because you and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals.

Or at least, that's what the first part of his article, "Why Young Men Are More Xenophobic," seems to be suggesting. Kanazawa references the zoological term "lek," which refers to behaviors one sex (often the male) demonstrates in the wild to attract the other for mating:

At the end of the lek, the females choose the winner and exclusively mate with him. The winner of lekking monopolizes all of the mating opportunities, and none of the other males get any.

The author points out that while most men may not cop to demonstrating their fitness as partners, some do wear expensive watches and boast about their success at work. (In other words, they're displaying their plumage and locking horns with other virile young men.)

Since Kanazawa hasn't posted the promised update to his post, we can only speculate on what lekking has to do with studying abroad. Could it be that men don't relish their cross-cultural experiences as much because their lekking behaviors are not recognized by females in the visiting culture? Are they subconsciously driven to stay where not only women will recognize their personal markers of achievement but where other men will acknowledge their worth? We're skeptical, how about you?

Related Stories:
· Women, Men and Study Abroad [WaPo Travel Log]
· So Why Do Women REALLY Study Abroad? [Jaunted]
· Why Young Single Men Are More Xenophobic [The Scientific Fundamentalist]

[Photo: angietjoelker]

To The Ladies / Study Abroad / → All Tags

So Why Do Women REALLY Study Abroad?

A recent study found that nearly twice as many women as men study abroad every year. Ellen Wernecke, assistant editor of Jaunted and lady, might just have an opinion on that.

Aaron Hotfelder of Gadling should have checked the label on the can of worms he opened up by reporting on a study of gender imbalance in study abroad programs. The Institute of International Education found that female students study abroad at nearly twice the rate of male students, a fact that given my study abroad experience (which was even more imbalanced, at about 20 percent male) I find completely unsurprising.

Somewhat more surprising? The first theory Inside Higher Ed advanced in reporting on this story.

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