A new report suggests adolescent and young adult females use mean tactics such as rumors, betrayal, and outcasting to maximize their own sex appeal and eliminate competition.

Female competition for mates can be just as fierce as that between males. A new report suggests adolescent and young adult females use mean tactics such as rumors, betrayal, and outcasting to maximize their own sex appeal and eliminate competition.

A University of Ottawa psychology professor, Tracy Vaillancourt, says this indirect aggression typically correlates with a woman’s years of peak fertility along with feeling that she has been somehow scorned by another woman or is simply less physically attractive than another woman.

Evolution theories claim these tactics have become the female weapon of choice since their mothering roles and responsibilities prevent them from engaging in physical conflict such as fist fights where they could be injured or killed.

Vaillancourt added, “Not only does such cattiness make the targeted women too sad and anxious to compete in the sexual market, some studies suggest it can make men find rivals less attractive — provided the badmouthing comes from a cute woman.”

Vaillancourt's conclusions have their critics. Emory University psychologist Kim Wallen called the study an opinion piece that cited other studies to support its theories, “none of which contain data showing that indirect aggression is successful in devaluing a competitor.”