AUTHOR=Ryabko Daniil , Reznikova Zhanna 

TITLE=On the evolutionary origins of differences in sexual preferences

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2015

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00628

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00628

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=A novel general explanation of the evolutionary process leading to the appearance of differences in
sexual preferences is proposed. The explanation is fully general: it is not specific to any particular
 type of sexual preferences, nor to any species or
population. It shows how  different sexual preferences can appear in any large group-living population in which sexual 
selection is sufficiently strong in each sex.
 The main idea is that the lack of interest towards a member of the opposite sex may be interpreted as
 a signal of popularity, and thus a sign of reproductive success. It is then boosted by the Fisher runaway process,
 resulting in a generalized trait~--- lack of interest towards the opposite sex. 
This trait develops far beyond the point when it gives a reproductive disadvantage, 
resulting in well-pronounced different sexual preferences.
 This hypothesis is placed into the context of other works on different sexual preferences in animals; supporting evidence 
from the literature is reviewed and additional research needed to confirm or refute the hypothesis in  
any given species is outlined.