1. This is not the average degree of polygyny in 'polygynous societies'.
The paper cites Marlowe (2003). Across 36 forager societies, only two show polygyny rates this high.
While 12% of married men (not the same as 12% of men) were polygynous, 20% of married women were.
2. The figure of 11% single men is inferred from these unions. With a female-biased sex ratio however, which is common in polygynous societies, some degree of polygyny can occur without producing a surplus of bachelors.
3. Somewhat counterintuitively, there are actually fewer never-married young men in more polygynous regions within countries, perhaps owing in part to stronger marriage norms.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12…
4. Male-biased sex ratios don't necessarily lead to more single men either. In fact, it's commonly found that a male surplus is associated with higher marriage rates, possibly because it grants women greater bargaining power in the dating market.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC49…
5. Similarly, men's reproductive skew may even be lower in societies with more male-biased sex ratios.
escholarship.org/uc/item/3w1953…
6. The research on sex ratios and violence is inconclusive. The review linked above finds an even split between studies reporting positive and negative associations between male-biased ratios and violence.
7. An association between polygyny and violence could to some extent reflect reverse causality. This ties in with the gender ratio findings discussed above.
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