The work has been published in the journal Biology of Sex Differences. So far, only two studies (1,2) have investigated which toys the monkeys choose based on sex. Both concluded that males prefer toys considered “masculine” (like vehicles) and females prefer toys considered “feminine” (like dolls). However, these investigations were carried out with apes in their social groups, which makes it difficult to determine whether these differences reflect the real priorities of individuals or are conditioned by social dynamics.

In this study, 14 macaques (7 males and 7 females) were individually analyzed with different toys: “male” toys (vehicles), “female” toys (dolls), neutral toys (non-zoomorphic hard toys) and ambiguous toys (e.g. zoomorphic vehicles). The result was that both males and females preferred neutral and “masculine” toys. In fact, the biggest difference between the sexes was with the dolls: males played more than females.

These results are totally contrary to previous research. Researchers suggest that previously documented sex differences may be conditioned by context and question whether sexual differences between toy preferences have a biological basis.

Explanation Ana Galarraga in Hala Bedi irratia

Ana Galarraga spoke in Hala Bedi Irratia of the article written by Egoitz Etxebeste.