William Costello

Evolutionary psychologist and PhD researcher in David Buss’s Evolutionary Psychology Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, known for research on incels, mating psychology, singlehood, and evolutionary perspectives on sex differences.

Status Anxiety Is Turning Female Privilege Into Public Grievance

Chris Williamson, Tania Reynolds, William Costello and Freya India argue that some young women’s pessimism is partly a status phenomenon: material advantage can coexist with incentives to present as injured, caring or constrained. In their account, gendered expectations make women easier to read as victims than agents, while beauty, higher-education status games and social media turn grievance, attractiveness and relationships into public signals.

Chris WilliamsonMay 7, 20267 min read