LEE, DN; LUIS HURTADO, J; TANG-MARTINEZ, Z; Univ. of Missouri – St. Louis; Univ. of Missouri – St. Louis; Univ. of Missouri – St. Louis: Pretty Boy Hypothesis: The Risk of Contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases from Attractive Males

The discussion concerning sexually transmitted diseases has been primarily centered on the costs and benefits of multiple mating and the evolution of different mating systems. An increased risk of females contracting STD from mating with multiple males, as opposed to ensuring fertilization, is believed to favor monogamous mating systems. Behaviors that decrease infection risk include reducing the number of sexual partners. Logic predicts that individuals with more partners are more likely to be infected than those with fewer partners. However, among many polygynous mating organisms, females have one or sometimes two partners, but their chosen male(s) may have many female partners, thereby increasing the probability that the male may be infected. Thus, for a female, STD infection risk is not only correlated with the number of partners she has, but also with the number of partners its mate has (had). A female could reduce her risk of contracting an STD by mating with males that are less susceptible. Attractive males tend to gain a high number of matings, and therefore, are more susceptible to STD infection. The Pretty Boy Hypothesis proposes that in some systems females favor mating with less attractive males over more attractive males as a means of reducing their risk of contracting an STD.