Bitch
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Description
'A book that is tearing down the stereotypes and the biases. Absolutely fascinating.' BBC R4 Woman's Hour
'From the heir to Attenborough. 5*' - Telegraph
'Glorious ... A bold and gripping takedown of the sexist mythology baked into biology ... Full of marvellous surprises. Guardian
'Colourful, committed and deeply informed.' Sunday Times
'Gloriously original' Daily Mirror
A 'sparkling attack on scientific sexism' Nature
'Humorous, absorbing, sometimes shocking (for a variety of reasons), and bound to be a conversation starter' BBC Wildlife
'Brilliant ... Cooke is a superb science writer' TLS
'Zoologist Lucy Cooke's hilarious and enlightening book reclaims evolutionary biology for females of all species.' New Statesman
'Introduces us to a marvelous zoetrope of animals.' The Atlantic
'[An] effervescent exposé ... [A] playful, enlightening tour of the vanguard of evolutionary biology.' Scientific American
Selected for the Telegraph's 'best books for summer 2022' and as one of the Guardian's '50 hottest new books for a great escape'.
_______________________________________________________________
What does it mean to be female? Mother, carer, the weaker sex? Think again.
In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species.
Meet the female lemurs of Madagascar, our ancient primate cousins that dominate the males of their species physically and politically.
Or female albatross couples, hooking up together to raise their chicks in Hawaii.
Or the meerkat mothers of the Kalahari Desert - the most murderous mammals on the planet.
The bitches in BITCH overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. Lucy Cooke's brilliant new book will change how you think - about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution.
__________
Praise for Lucy's previous book THE UNEXPECTED TRUTH ABOUT ANIMALS
'Endlessly fascinating' - Bill Bryson
'I cannot remember when I enjoyed a non-fiction book so much' - Daily Express
'A joy from beginning to end' - Guardian
'Best science pick: deeply researched, sassily written' - Nature
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
'A book that is tearing down the stereotypes and the biases. Absolutely fascinating.' BBC R4 Woman's Hour
'From the heir to Attenborough. 5*' - Telegraph
'Glorious ... A bold and gripping takedown of the sexist mythology baked into biology ... Full of marvellous surprises. Guardian
'Colourful, committed and deeply informed.' Sunday Times
'Gloriously original' Daily Mirror
A 'sparkling attack on scientific sexism' Nature
'Humorous, absorbing, sometimes shocking (for a variety of reasons), and bound to be a conversation starter' BBC Wildlife
'Brilliant ... Cooke is a superb science writer' TLS
'Zoologist Lucy Cooke's hilarious and enlightening book reclaims evolutionary biology for females of all species.' New Statesman
'Introduces us to a marvelous zoetrope of animals.' The Atlantic
'[An] effervescent exposé ... [A] playful, enlightening tour of the vanguard of evolutionary biology.' Scientific American
Selected for the Telegraph's 'best books for summer 2022' and as one of the Guardian's '50 hottest new books for a great escape'.
_______________________________________________________________
What does it mean to be female? Mother, carer, the weaker sex? Think again.
In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology. Lucy Cooke introduces us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species.
Meet the female lemurs of Madagascar, our ancient primate cousins that dominate the males of their species physically and politically.
Or female albatross couples, hooking up together to raise their chicks in Hawaii.
Or the meerkat mothers of the Kalahari Desert - the most murderous mammals on the planet.
The bitches in BITCH overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. Lucy Cooke's brilliant new book will change how you think - about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution.
__________
Praise for Lucy's previous book THE UNEXPECTED TRUTH ABOUT ANIMALS
'Endlessly fascinating' - Bill Bryson
'I cannot remember when I enjoyed a non-fiction book so much' - Daily Express
'A joy from beginning to end' - Guardian
'Best science pick: deeply researched, sassily written' - Nature
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”.