Are human beings innately aggressive? Does biology condemn women to remain the “second sex?” Taking up such biases cloaked as the findings of science, Reed explains that the disciplines closest to human life—anthropology, biology, and sociology—are permeated with rationalizations for the oppression of women and the maintenance of the established capitalist order.
What People Are Saying
“Her review of the present state of Anthropology is valuable. She excels in historical reviews of literature and theory.”
“Reed attacks the sexism that has flawed scientific analysis...and the downgrading of 19th-century anthropologists' evolutionist reasoning.”
“The essays examine the presence of sexist stereotypes and preconceptions in the biological and social sciences, especially primatology, sociobiology, and anthropology.”
“Reed has a certain flair with terminology and a fresh iconoclastic lack of academic decorum. She is knowledgeable in the disciplines under discussion.”
“The matriarchal/anti-matriarchal debate has ramifications far outside the groves of academe. It has two opposing views on what it means to be human, on what constitutes human nature, on the role of aggression in human history, on inherent gender characteristics and their consequences.”
“This is the sort of book that one should own, one should read, and one should pass along. We all owe Evelyn Reed and her co-workers a very warm vote of gratitude. Her contribution will last, both in the hearts and in the heads of women.”