Maternal instinct -- the all-consuming, utterly selfless love that mothers lavish on their children -- has long been assumed to be an innate, indeed defining element of a woman's nature. But is it? In this provocative, groundbreaking book, renowned anthropologist (and mother) Sarah Blaffer Hrdy shares a radical new vision of motherhood and its crucial role in human evolution.
Hrdy strips away stereotypes and gender-biased myths to demonstrate that traditional views of maternal behavior are essentially wishful thinking codified as objective observation. As Hrdy argues, far from being...
Maternal instinct -- the all-consuming, utterly selfless love that mothers lavish on their children -- has long been assumed to be an innate, indeed d...
Sexual combat is not a monopoly of the human species. As Sarah Blaffer Hrdy argues in this spellbinding book, war between male and female animals has deep roots in evolutionary history. Her account of family life among hanuman langurs--the black-faced, gray monkeys inhabiting much of the Indian subcontinent--is written with force, wit, and, at times, sorrow.
Male hanumans, in pursuit of genetic success, routinely kill babies sired by their competitors. The mothers of endangered infants counter with various strategems to deceive the males and prevent destruction of their own...
Sexual combat is not a monopoly of the human species. As Sarah Blaffer Hrdy argues in this spellbinding book, war between male and female animals h...
This work argues that evolutionary theorists' emphasis on sexual competition among males for access to females overlooks selection pressures on females themselves. In an account of what female primates themselves actually do to secure their own reproductive advantage, Sarah Hrdy demolishes myths about sexually passive, coy, compliant and exclusively nurturing females. Her account of the great range of behaviours in many species of primates, in many circumstances, expands the concept of female nature to include the range of selection pressures on females, and reminds the reader of the...
This work argues that evolutionary theorists' emphasis on sexual competition among males for access to females overlooks selection pressures on female...
