Home Books Bitch: On the Female of the Species

Bitch: On the Female of the Species

Bitch: On the Female of the Species

by Lucy Cooke

Basic Books ·2022 ·400 pages
Near the Top
Near the Top
I Index
68/99
Maybe Someday

46/99

Critics' Rating Index

Top of the Pile

90/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

84/99

Volume of Reviews

83/99

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About This Book

A fierce, funny, and revolutionary look at the queens of the animal kingdom. Studying zoology made Lucy Cooke feel like a sad freak. Not because she loved spiders or would root around in animal feces: all her friends shared the same curious kinks. The problem was her sex. Being female meant she was, by nature, a loser. Since Charles Darwin, evolutionary biologists have been convinced that the males of the animal kingdom are the interesting ones—dominating and promiscuous, while females are dull, passive, and devoted. In Bitch, Cooke tells a new story. Whether investigating same-sex female albatross couples that raise chicks, murderous mother meerkats, or the titanic battle of the sexes waged by ducks, Cooke shows us a new evolutionary biology, one where females can be as dynamic as any male. This isn't your grandfather's evolutionary biology. It's more inclusive, truer to life, and, simply, more fun.


Reviews

"Cooke is willing to question the scientific validity of the evolutionary story as handed down by Darwin – a scientific sacred cow."

Seán Duke· The Irish Times Read review ↗ Near the Top

"This hits the right balance between informative and entertaining; popular science fans will want to check it out."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

"A top-notch book of natural science that busts myths as it entertains."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"riveting research ..."

Carol Tavris· Times Literary Supplement Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Their pioneering research shows that sex and gender have always been complex, innovative, and varied throughout the animal kingdom."

Lucy Roehrig· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Her book encourages reflection but never overwhelms with information, even when, for instance, debunking accepted wisdom about XX and XY chromosomes ..."

Jessica A. Bushore· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Cooke gleefully rebuts many of these assumptions about male dominance and female docility ..so full of marvellous surprises about sex roles that I sensed Cooke herself was transformed in its writing."

Josie Glausiusz· The Guardian Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"The chapter on sex binaries overclaims the loudest ..."

James McConnachie· The Times (UK) Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

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