Bitch: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal
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Description
Mother. Daughter. Ruler. Provider. What does it mean to be female?
The female species has never been more scrutinized or politicised. As we search to define our gender, combat prejudice, and celebrate the myriad of femininity – what can the animal kingdom teach us about its true nature?
In BITCH, award winning zoologist, broadcaster and author Lucy Cooke, takes the reader on a global journey to meet the animals and scientists that are helping to redefine female species and release it from the shackles of stereotype.
Lucy will present us with a dazzling portrait of the female, introducing us to polyamorous chimps, alpha-female hyenas, menopausal killer whales and lesbian lizards. By showing us the spectrum of the species, she sets out to re-write the evolutionary labels that have come to define a gender and propose a new understanding of what it means to be female today.
Book Information
Posts
Absolutes Highlight
Das Buch hat mich sehr begeistert. Lucy Cooke zeigt auf, wie wenig weibliche Tiere in der Evolutionsbiologie berücksichtigt wurden und stellt die weibliche biologische Vielfalt dar. Das Buch ist super spannend, klar strukturiert und modern geschrieben, mit Humor und vielen Aha-Momenten. Selbst ohne Biologie-Background total verständlich und ein echtes Highlight.
Wie Vorstellungen vom Geschlecht die Evolutionsbiologie prägten - und diese die Vorstellungen vom Geschlecht
Ich bin absolut begeistert (und die Kolleg:innen die seit Tagen in jeder Mittagspause Tierfakten erzählt bekommen hoffentlich auch 😉). Wusstet ihr das Menschen und ein paar Wale die einzigen Tiere sind, die eine Menopause haben? Warum es für Spinnenmännchen evolutionär sinnvoll sein kann, sich fressen zu lassen? Und das viele Tierarten sich selbst klonen können? Lucy Cooke wiederlegt zahlreiche Geschlechtsstereotype, die auf das Tierreich übertragen wurden und zeigt, dass binäre Vorstellungen vom Geschlecht nicht haltbar sind. Dabei ist das Buch witzig, spannend und manchmal sogar ein bisschen gruselig. Es ist das erste Sachbuch, dass ich durchgesuchtet habe wie einen Roman.
Augen öffnend
Unfassbar wie wenig man doch über die Biologie weiß und in der Schule vermittelt bekommt. Am Einprägsamsten war für mich das Zitat von William Whewell: „eine Maske der Theorie bedeckt das gesamte Antlitz der Natur… die meisten von uns sind sich unserer Gewohnheit nicht bewusst, dass wir nämlich die Sprache der Außenwelt lesen und sie bereits übersetzen, während wir noch lesen.“ Das fasst für mich die Hauptkritik an den patriarchisch belasteten Theorien zur Evolution, Sex und Macht zusammen, warum sie so lange bestehen konnten und wie viel Energie und Zeit investiert werden muss, um die Muster aufzubrechen und somit offen und unvoreingenommen die Natur zu betrachten und zu begreifen.
What a book! I’ve recognized some concerns that this book might be an attempt to spread some hatred towards men and it does quite the opposite. It’s a great feminist manifesto, if I may say so, with the key message being “(…) the female of the species had been marginalized and misunderstood” and Lucy Cooke is out to change that. The book is full of many interesting “fun facts” I’ll throw out at the next get-together and with much food for thought sprinkled in. I enjoyed Cookes writing style, that managed to add in some entertaining phrases, irony and sarcasm, so the book didn’t turn into a dry book one has to have a science degree for, in order to be able to read the book, whilst still being able to topple serious topics. Also: if you read about the pig farmers and aren’t vegan -what are you doing??? “BITCH - What does it mean to be female?” -which is already very provocative title to start with- gives me, a future scientist and devout feminist, a lot of hope and strength for a better future in STEM. I’ll end the review with my favorite part of the whole book, where she talks about bonobos, which might be more important now than ever: “(…) males are not genetically programmed to aggressively dominate females. (…) The key ingredient for female empowerment is the strength of sisterhood, (…) to overthrow an oppressive patriarchy and foster a more egalitarian society. (…) if you behave with unrelated females as if they are your sisters, you can gain power”.
What a book! I’ve recognized some concerns that this book might be an attempt to spread some hatred towards men and it does quite the opposite. It’s a great feminist manifesto, if I may say so, with the key message being “(…) the female of the species had been marginalized and misunderstood” and Lucy Cooke is out to change that. The book is full of many interesting “fun facts” I’ll throw out at the next get-together and with much food for thought sprinkled in. I enjoyed Cookes writing style, that managed to add in some entertaining phrases, irony and sarcasm, so the book didn’t turn into a dry book one has to have a science degree for, in order to be able to read the book, whilst still being able to topple serious topics. Also: if you read about the pig farmers and aren’t vegan -what are you doing??? “BITCH - What does it mean to be female?” -which is already very provocative title to start with- gives me, a future scientist and devout feminist, a lot of hope and strength for a better future in STEM. I’ll end the review with my favorite part of the whole book, where she talks about bonobos, which might be more important now than ever: “(…) males are not genetically programmed to aggressively dominate females. (…) The key ingredient for female empowerment is the strength of sisterhood, (…) to overthrow an oppressive patriarchy and foster a more egalitarian society. (…) if you behave with unrelated females as if they are your sisters, you can gain power”.
Description
Mother. Daughter. Ruler. Provider. What does it mean to be female?
The female species has never been more scrutinized or politicised. As we search to define our gender, combat prejudice, and celebrate the myriad of femininity – what can the animal kingdom teach us about its true nature?
In BITCH, award winning zoologist, broadcaster and author Lucy Cooke, takes the reader on a global journey to meet the animals and scientists that are helping to redefine female species and release it from the shackles of stereotype.
Lucy will present us with a dazzling portrait of the female, introducing us to polyamorous chimps, alpha-female hyenas, menopausal killer whales and lesbian lizards. By showing us the spectrum of the species, she sets out to re-write the evolutionary labels that have come to define a gender and propose a new understanding of what it means to be female today.
Book Information
Posts
Absolutes Highlight
Das Buch hat mich sehr begeistert. Lucy Cooke zeigt auf, wie wenig weibliche Tiere in der Evolutionsbiologie berücksichtigt wurden und stellt die weibliche biologische Vielfalt dar. Das Buch ist super spannend, klar strukturiert und modern geschrieben, mit Humor und vielen Aha-Momenten. Selbst ohne Biologie-Background total verständlich und ein echtes Highlight.
Wie Vorstellungen vom Geschlecht die Evolutionsbiologie prägten - und diese die Vorstellungen vom Geschlecht
Ich bin absolut begeistert (und die Kolleg:innen die seit Tagen in jeder Mittagspause Tierfakten erzählt bekommen hoffentlich auch 😉). Wusstet ihr das Menschen und ein paar Wale die einzigen Tiere sind, die eine Menopause haben? Warum es für Spinnenmännchen evolutionär sinnvoll sein kann, sich fressen zu lassen? Und das viele Tierarten sich selbst klonen können? Lucy Cooke wiederlegt zahlreiche Geschlechtsstereotype, die auf das Tierreich übertragen wurden und zeigt, dass binäre Vorstellungen vom Geschlecht nicht haltbar sind. Dabei ist das Buch witzig, spannend und manchmal sogar ein bisschen gruselig. Es ist das erste Sachbuch, dass ich durchgesuchtet habe wie einen Roman.
Augen öffnend
Unfassbar wie wenig man doch über die Biologie weiß und in der Schule vermittelt bekommt. Am Einprägsamsten war für mich das Zitat von William Whewell: „eine Maske der Theorie bedeckt das gesamte Antlitz der Natur… die meisten von uns sind sich unserer Gewohnheit nicht bewusst, dass wir nämlich die Sprache der Außenwelt lesen und sie bereits übersetzen, während wir noch lesen.“ Das fasst für mich die Hauptkritik an den patriarchisch belasteten Theorien zur Evolution, Sex und Macht zusammen, warum sie so lange bestehen konnten und wie viel Energie und Zeit investiert werden muss, um die Muster aufzubrechen und somit offen und unvoreingenommen die Natur zu betrachten und zu begreifen.
What a book! I’ve recognized some concerns that this book might be an attempt to spread some hatred towards men and it does quite the opposite. It’s a great feminist manifesto, if I may say so, with the key message being “(…) the female of the species had been marginalized and misunderstood” and Lucy Cooke is out to change that. The book is full of many interesting “fun facts” I’ll throw out at the next get-together and with much food for thought sprinkled in. I enjoyed Cookes writing style, that managed to add in some entertaining phrases, irony and sarcasm, so the book didn’t turn into a dry book one has to have a science degree for, in order to be able to read the book, whilst still being able to topple serious topics. Also: if you read about the pig farmers and aren’t vegan -what are you doing??? “BITCH - What does it mean to be female?” -which is already very provocative title to start with- gives me, a future scientist and devout feminist, a lot of hope and strength for a better future in STEM. I’ll end the review with my favorite part of the whole book, where she talks about bonobos, which might be more important now than ever: “(…) males are not genetically programmed to aggressively dominate females. (…) The key ingredient for female empowerment is the strength of sisterhood, (…) to overthrow an oppressive patriarchy and foster a more egalitarian society. (…) if you behave with unrelated females as if they are your sisters, you can gain power”.
What a book! I’ve recognized some concerns that this book might be an attempt to spread some hatred towards men and it does quite the opposite. It’s a great feminist manifesto, if I may say so, with the key message being “(…) the female of the species had been marginalized and misunderstood” and Lucy Cooke is out to change that. The book is full of many interesting “fun facts” I’ll throw out at the next get-together and with much food for thought sprinkled in. I enjoyed Cookes writing style, that managed to add in some entertaining phrases, irony and sarcasm, so the book didn’t turn into a dry book one has to have a science degree for, in order to be able to read the book, whilst still being able to topple serious topics. Also: if you read about the pig farmers and aren’t vegan -what are you doing??? “BITCH - What does it mean to be female?” -which is already very provocative title to start with- gives me, a future scientist and devout feminist, a lot of hope and strength for a better future in STEM. I’ll end the review with my favorite part of the whole book, where she talks about bonobos, which might be more important now than ever: “(…) males are not genetically programmed to aggressively dominate females. (…) The key ingredient for female empowerment is the strength of sisterhood, (…) to overthrow an oppressive patriarchy and foster a more egalitarian society. (…) if you behave with unrelated females as if they are your sisters, you can gain power”.