The Woman That Never Evolved

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 complexity and dynamism of the evolutionary story.