Females of many primate species exemplify signs of sexual advertisement; these signals come in forms of ‘exaggerated estrus swelling.’ Estrus is defined as a recurring period of sexual receptivity in female mammals. The estrus swelling is normal for female primates, however exaggerated estrus swelling and the purpose behind why it occurs is still unknown. So how do we distinguish normal swelling from exaggerated swelling? Well according to the reading, “A species was classified as having exaggerated swellings if the following criteria were satisfied: (1) either adults or adolescents (or both) undergo visible changes in a special-ized ‘sexual skin’ over the course of the female cycle; (2) the sexual skin involves swelling and/or reddening of anatomical parts not directly involved in copulation, such as the circumanal skin, the area around the ischial callosities, or the chest and abdomen (Rowell 1972; Dixson 1983); and (3) the signal is clearly visible by human observers at a distance.” This will help distinguish normal swelling from the sexual advertising of exaggerated swelling. This is crucial as normal swelling is much different than exaggerated swelling. Exaggerated swelling is thought to be used by females as a way to manipulate preferred males. Normal swelling is a natural recurring …show more content…
According to the reading, large estrus swellings increase body weight which can make travel much more difficult and leave the female more susceptible to infection. As we see the costly effects of these swellings on the female body, we can only come to conclude that the benefits of this period must outweigh the cost. Meaning that the female must be getting something out of these large estrus swellings if she is willing to sacrifice her well-being. There are a number of hypotheses as to the purpose behind this