Talk:Sexual swelling

attempted adding Ru-link "ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Брачные_мозоли" save not working from both sides..

Smandalia (talk) 12:53, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

We are interested in contributing to this wikipedia article, looking to add information on primate and human sexual swellings Smandalia (talk) 12:58, 29 January 2016 (UTC)


 * , who are "we"? What WP:Student editing class are you with? Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 13:01, 29 January 2016 (UTC)


 * , my group for our coursework for universitySmandalia (talk) 14:54, 3 February 2016 (UTC)

Proposed Additions
Such an interesting topic! Have you considered adding a final sentence linking the fact that sexual swellings are signals of fertility (as you've said) to the behaviour of mammals? For instance, you could mention the work of Domb and Pagel (2001) that suggests that male olive baboons prefer females with large sexual swellings due to the swelling being predictive of maturity, number of offspring and offspring survival. Consequently, the male baboons compete for, and groom, females with large ornaments. Psuncv (talk) 20:45, 31 January 2016 (UTC)

Potential Additions
Have you considered the addition of diagrams to visually demonstrate where in the menstrual cycle these swellings take place? - so from which point in the cycle that they form, and for how many days for some examples. Also, some pictures showing the swellings for some examples during the most fertile periods, and when they are not at their most fertile period (for visual comparison) could be useful. Nd2242 (talk) 23:53, 2 February 2016 (UTC)

Proposed Additions
Myself, Psuncv and psundr will be contributing to this article as part of our Human Sexuality module class project. We are looking to add sections on the following: Looking at existing hypotheses for the function of sexual swellings: Obvious ovulation hypothesis, Best-mate hypothesis, many males hypothesis, and reliable indicator hypothesis, as well as expanding the existing information on the 'form' that such swellings may take, advantages for mating, and potential costs to female primates of exaggerated sexual swellings. Our starting point for this is from the book by Kappeler and Schaik (2004) A more extensive bibliography will be added to this comment shortly for review. Tesjh27 (talk) 21:59, 12 February 2016 (UTC)
 * We'll also cover the main characteristics and correlates of exaggerated sexual swellings which have been observed as covered in a review paper by Nunn (1999) which also provides an overview of the aforementioned hypotheses of sexual swellings. We'll also draw information from another review of the literature by Stallmann and Froehlich (2000) We shall also add content on Sexual Swellings as Graded Signals, and potentially how swellings are part of sensory exploitation of males by females. Tesjh27 (talk) 18:35, 14 February 2016 (UTC)


 * To Summarize: Considering the above review papers, and other sources, will allow us to talk about the following hypotheses:

Additional hypotheses will be mentioned more briefly due to the smaller research available on them:
 * Best-mate hypothesis
 * Reliable Quality Indicator hypothesis
 * Obvious ovulation hypothesis
 * Male services hypothesis
 * Many-male hypothesis
 * Graded-signals hypothesis
 * Parental care hypothesis
 * social passport hypothesis
 * cost of sexual attraction hypothesis
 * sensory explanation
 * differentiating between cycles hypothesis Psuncv (talk) 07:43, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Before introducing these hypotheses we intend to give an overview of the phylogenetic origins of sexual swelling, their background (e.g. that they mainly occur in multi-male societies and when the species mate seasonally and a discussion on when dominant/subdominant males mate in relation to a females peak swelling), and an incite into their anatomical features. This will include examples of primates, mammals and a bird who display sexual swellings Psuncv (talk) 08:54, 16 February 2016 (UTC) Psuncv (talk) 07:54, 16 February 2016 (UTC)

Although some of these latter hypotheses are relatively underwritten about in the literature, in comparison to the likes of the reliable indicator hypothesis and the graded-signal hypothesis, we still consider them worthy of being mentioned here.To add to this article we propose using the references below, amongst others:
 * 1) Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality. Oxford University Press.
 * 2) Zinner, D., Alberts, S. C., Nunn, C. L., & Altmann, J. (2002). Evolutionary biology (Communication arising): Significance of primate sexual swellings. Nature, 420(6912), 142-143.
 * 3) Huchard, E., Courtiol, A., Benavides, J. A., Knapp, L. A., Raymond, M., & Cowlishaw, G. (2009). Can fertility signals lead to quality signals? Insights from the evolution of primate sexual swellings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 276(1663), 1889-1897.
 * 4) Deschner, T., Heistermann, M., Hodges, K., & Boesch, C. (2003). Timing and probability of ovulation in relation to sex skin swelling in wild West African chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus. Animal Behaviour, 66(3), 551-560.
 * 5) Alberts, S. C., & Fitzpatrick, C. L. (2012). Paternal care and the evolution of exaggerated sexual swellings in primates. Behavioral Ecology, 23(4), 699-706.
 * 6) Deschner, T., Heistermann, M., Hodges, K., & Boesch, C. (2004). Female sexual swelling size, timing of ovulation, and male behavior in wild West African chimpanzees. Hormones and Behavior, 46(2), 204-215.
 * 7) Deschner, T., & Boesch, C. (2007). Can the patterns of sexual swelling cycles in female Taï chimpanzees be explained by the cost-of-sexual-attraction hypothesis?. International Journal of Primatology, 28(2), 389-406
 * 8) Setchell, J. M., & Wickings, E. J. (2004). Sexual swelling in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx): A test of the reliable indicator hypothesis. Behavioral Ecology, 15(3), 438-445.
 * 9) Pagel, M. (1994). The evolution of conspicuous oestrous advertisement in Old World monkeys. Animal Behaviour, 47(6), 1333-1341.
 * 10) Reichert, K. E., Heistermann, M., Keith Hodges, J., Boesch, C., & Hohmann, G. (2002). What females tell males about their reproductive status: are morphological and behavioural cues reliable signals of ovulation in bonobos (Pan paniscus)?. Ethology, 108(7), 583-600 Psuncv (talk) 10:15, 15 February 2016 (UTC)
 * 11) Cox, C. R., & Le Boeuf, B. J. (1977). Female incitation of male competition: a mechanism in sexual selection. American Naturalist, 317-335. Tesjh27 (talk) 12:21, 15 February 2016 (UTC)
 * 12) Barelli, C., Heistermann, M., Boesch, C., & Reichard, U. H. (2007). Sexual swellings in wild white-handed gibbon females (Hylobates lar) indicate the probability of ovulation. Hormones and behavior, 51(2), 221-230.
 * 13) Deschner, T., Heistermann, M., Hodges, K., & Boesch, C. (2004). Female sexual swelling size, timing of ovulation, and male behavior in wild West African chimpanzees. Hormones and Behavior, 46(2), 204-215.
 * 14) Brauch, K., Pfefferle, D., Hodges, K., Möhle, U., Fischer, J., & Heistermann, M. (2007). Female sexual behavior and sexual swelling size as potential cues for males to discern the female fertile phase in free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) of Gibraltar. Hormones and Behavior, 52(3), 375-383.
 * 15) Emery, M. A., & Whitten, P. L. (2003). Size of sexual swellings reflects ovarian function in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 54(4), 340-351.
 * 16) Ryu, H., Hill, D. A., & Furuichi, T. (2015). Prolonged maximal sexual swelling in wild bonobos facilitates affiliative interactions between females.Behaviour, 152(3-4), 285-311.
 * 17) Wallis, J. (1985). Synchrony of estrous swelling in captive group-living chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). International Journal of Primatology, 6(3), 335-350.
 * 18) Higham, J. P., MacLarnon, A. M., Ross, C., Heistermann, M., & Semple, S. (2008). Baboon sexual swellings: information content of size and color. Hormones and behavior, 53(3), 452-462. Psundr (talk) 23:32, 16 February 2016 (UTC)
 * 19) Kappeler, P. M., & Van Schaik, C. P. (Eds.). (2004). Sexual selection in primates: new and comparative perspectives. Cambridge University Press.
 * 20) Nunn, C. L. (1999). The evolution of exaggerated sexual swellings in primates and the graded-signal hypothesis. Animal behaviour, 58(2), 229-246.
 * 21) Stallmann, R. R., & Froehlich, J. W. (2000). Primate sexual swellings as coevolved signal systems. Primates, 41(1), 1-16. Tesjh27 (talk) 08:12, 17 February 2016 (UTC)
 * 22) Anderson, C. M., & Bielert, C. F. (1994). Adolescent exaggeration in female catarrhine primates. Primates, 35(3), 283-300.
 * 23) Andersson, M. B. (1994). Sexual selection. Princeton University Press. Tesjh27 (talk) 08:32, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

Peer review feedback
A great deal of interesting research has been added to this topic! I just have a few feedback comments:


 * It would be good if the lead summary at the top of the page could outline and reflect more of what is to come in the rest of the article, just to give the audience a better overview of the topics the article will cover.


 * I came across several punctuation errors, such as not starting a sentence with a capital letter or not putting a space between two words. I have copy-edited the page (see page history for details) to amend these. I would recommend before adding any future content to double check for any punctuation or grammatical errors prior to saving any changes. This will just ensure the article is clear and understandable for anyone reading it!


 * A few of the headings were also not written in sentence case. I have likewise amended these.


 * Also, in the Graded-Signals hypothesis section, there is reference to a figure that should be shown on the right hand side. I believe this is to demonstrate that males will move on from females whose sexual swellings have reached their peak (and are subsequently shrinking in size), to other females whose swellings are still growing. However, it wasn’t quite clear where this figure was located, if at all. Perhaps make it more obvious where this figure is, or otherwise, not make reference to it in the text.

Hope this helps! 123hs (talk) 20:46, 11 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your feedback! We have endeavour to check our work more thoroughly and have removed the mentioned reference to the image. Thanks again!Psuncv (talk) 16:23, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

Peer review feedback I
I think you've done a really great job with the section that you have added to this article, and it is definitely a great start. It's very detailed already, so I don't think that is something that needs changing, however, it might be a good idea for you to add a small section at the end, summarising which hypotheses are the most widely accepted at this point. I did make some minor edits, correcting for grammar. These were just small changes, such as changing the use of the word "resultantly" to "as a result of", as it sounded a bit odd before. I tried to present some points slightly more clearly, that were perhaps explained in a slightly confusing way. I hope that helps. I think it might make sense for you to look through again and see if any of your hypotheses and the research that is explained within them can be simplified slightly. I feel like some of the explanations are perhaps a bit complicated or wordy, and it's worth remembering that when people search for topics on Wikipedia, they often know very little or nothing about them, so they would have a difficult time following articles that use a lot of jargon. It might also be useful to write a couple of sentences before you start talking about individual hypotheses, underlining what you are about to talk about and perhaps providing the reader with some general information about the different hypotheses as a whole. Overall I think you have done a great job though! I hope this helps. Rmwillis5 (talk) 13:28, 14 March 2016 (UTC)

Peer review feedback II
This article has been improved a great deal from the recent edits! Much more detail and structure has been provided.

I made a few copy edits:
 * Separated the first sentence in the top paragraph from the rest, so it flows better.
 * Corrected the scientific names provided for various species in the article (Physical Characteristics section: "Cercocebus, Mandrillus, Theropithecus, Papio and Pan"; Names for various species in the Many-Males Hypothesis Section). Genus and species names should be italicised, and the Genus name capitalised as well (e.g. common chimpanzee = Pan troglodytes).

Some suggestions:
 * The introductory paragraph is great, but maybe this information should be in a separate section and expanded on?
 * The first photograph displays a red face. It is unclear if this is indicating that these red faces are sexual swellings. If not, perhaps just have the photo of the swelled buttocks.

Hope these help. Though overall, the article is looking so much better! NC1328656 (talk) 14:12, 12 March 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review
This is a really good start! I have made some minor changes to wording of a few sentences, but it generally reads very well. One thing that could be improved upon is potentially adding some comparison photos of more species, showing what their swellings look like when they are not in estrus, and compare to what they look like in their peak swelling form. Also, the introduction could have more detail. For instance, more examples of species could be given who demonstrate these swellings, and why it is more common in those species compared to others (for example, show more swellings because they live in groups with large numbers of males). Nd2242 (talk) 22:00, 12 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Hi, Thank you for your comments. We have added an additional picture for comparison. However, there is unfortunately we have been unable to find any other images (of different species) that we can use without breaking Wikipedia guidelines. Thanks again! Psuncv (talk) 16:25, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

Human Sexuality Peer Review
I have a few comments for improving this article for Human Sexuality. Firstly, this article has been rated as Stub Class on the quality scale, therefore it can be greatly improved. You have done a great job at improving the detail and structure of this article, and a great deal of research has gone in to making this improvement. I have made a copy edit in the introduction. The first paragraph did not state the purpose of sexual swelling, or relate it back to evolutionary psychology. I therefore added the sentence ‘Females use the exaggerated swellings to compete for access to males, and to advertise variation in female fitness’. I also added the reference. This article has done a good job at explaining sexual swelling in many primates. However, it could be improved by comparing sexual swelling in chimpanzees and bonobos. On a positive note, it is very interesting to read about all of the research that has been conducted into sexual swelling in both primates and humans, and it has been presented in an objective and unbiased way. Swifty1995 (talk) 11:10, 14 March 2016 (UTC)

Changing of the picture on the page
I don't think the current subtext for the picture is useful. If the picture is not a correct example of sexual swelling the whole thing should be removed or replaced. Anyone have an opinion on this? Mattman723 14:39, 23 April 2021 (UTC)


 * You're correct. Sexual swellings are on females. This is just a picture of the ischial callosities common in Old World Monkeys. Picture should be replaced. 98.37.99.111 (talk) 07:38, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

The swellings are anogenital, not perineal.
We need to not let squeamishness stand in the way of accurately describing the subject of this page. There are two discrete and unambiguous locations of the swelling in question: the vulva and the anus. Yes, the anus specifically is the site of sexual swelling during tumescence. Yes, from our human perspective it may seem illogical for the anus (which to us is a non-reproductive sexual kinky thing) to actually and legitimately have a sexual behavior in a different species. Consider that in some cases like the crested macaque, the anus is normally the more swollen area at maximal tumescence. The proper terminology to describe the location of these swellings is one of the following: 1. Anal and genital regions 2. Anogenital region https://primate.wisc.edu/primate-info-net/pin-factsheets/pin-primate-factsheets-glossary/ https://neprimateconservancy.org/central-chimpanzee/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31937004/ Veliyun80 (talk) 03:42, 11 March 2023 (UTC)