Responses will vary, but students should explain that parents invested in helping their needierdaughters, those daughters who partnered with males with fewer resources; this unequalinvestment caused daughters to “exploit” their parents’ generosity. Daughters were more likely tochoose a partner with inadequate support resources and spare themselves the costs of “holdingout” for the perfect man, because they knew their parents would pick up the slack. Daughters withinadequate partners ended up with the same resources as their sisters with better partners becauseof their parents’ contributions. Over time, females became less choosy in their male partnersbecause they knew their parents would make up the difference for any inadequacies in partners.
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