Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

The author draws on anthropology, history, literature, developmental psychology, and animal behavior to examine "the distinct biological and genetic elements that constitute maternal instinct" and to explain "why age-old tensions between the sexes persist and are being played out today in efforts to control women's reproductive choices."--Jacket.

A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection

Mother Nature

"Mothers and Others" looks to a line of apes who began to rear their young differently than their Great Ape ancestors. Out of this complicated and contingent form of childrearing, Hrdy argues, came the human capacity for understanding others.

The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding

Mothers and Others

Hailed as a ground-breaking synthesis of feminism and evolutionary theory when first published, The Woman That Never Evolved is a bold and refreshing answer to contemporary versions of social Darwinism that shoehorn female nature into narrow stereotypes. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, a leader in modern primatology, argues that evolutionary theorists' emphasis on sexual competition among males for access to females overlooks selection pressures on females themselves. In a vivid account of what female primates themselves actually do to secure their own reproductive advantage, she demolishes myths about sexually passive, "coy," compliant, exclusively nurturing females. Her lucid and compelling account of the great range of behaviors in many species of primates expands the concept of female nature to include the full range of selection pressures on females, and reminds us of the true complexity and dynamism of the evolutionary story.

With a New Preface and Bibliographical Updates, Revised Edition

The Woman That Never Evolved

Presents a multidisciplinary study of the distinctive genetic and biological elements of material instinct that discusses the links between maternity and ambition, and mother love and sexual love

Including an Analysis of Tales Recorded and Translated by Robert M. Laughlin

The Black-man of Zinacantan, a Central American Legend

Sexual combat is not a monopoly of the human species. As Sarah Blaffer Hrdy argues in this spellbinding book, war between male and female animals has deep roots in evolutionary history. Her account of family life among hanuman langurs--the black-faced, gray monkeys inhabiting much of the Indian subcontinent--is written with force, wit, and, at times, sorrow. Male hanumans, in pursuit of genetic success, routinely kill babies sired by their competitors. The mothers of endangered infants counter with various strategems to deceive the males and prevent destruction of their own offspring. Competition and selfishness are dominant themes of langur society. Competition among males for access to females, competition among females for access to food resources, and disregard by one female for the well-being of another's infant--these are some very common examples. Yet there are also moments of heroic self-sacrifice, as when an elderly female rushes to defend her troop and its babies from an invading, infancticidal male. The Langurs of Abu is the first book to analyze behavior of wild primates from the standpoint of both sexes. It is also a poignant and sophisticated exploration of primate behavior patterns from a feminist point of view. This book may inspire controversy; it will certainly be read with pleasure by anyone interested in animal behavior. Richly illustrated with photographs, seven in full color.

Female and Male Strategies of Reproduction

The Langurs of Abu

Qu'est-ce que l'orgasme chez la guenon peut nous apprendre de la sexualité féminine ? Comment expliquer l'appétit sexuel de la femme, qui peut pratiquement faire l'amour à n'importe quel moment du mois et de l'année ? La compétition sexuelle est-elle l'apanage des mâles ? Pourquoi les femelles des primates sont-elles si souvent considérées comme inférieures aux mâles ? Est-il exact que la domination de ces derniers soit " naturelle " ? Et faut-il admettre que les femelles des primates, à cause des exigences de la maternité, sont " normalement " destinées à une vie sexuelle moins exubérante que celle de leurs compagnons ?

Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

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