Women After All

Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacy

By: Melvin Konner MD

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

A lively, richly informed argument for the natural superiority of women from the acclaimed author of The Tangled Wing.

There is a human genetic fluke that is surprisingly common due to a change in a key pair of chromosomes. In the normal condition the two look the same, but in this disorder one is malformed and shrunken beyond recognition. The result is a shortened life span, higher mortality at all ages, an inability to reproduce, premature hair loss, and brain defects variously resulting in attention deficit, hyperactivity, conduct disorder, hypersexuality, and an enormous excess of both outward and self-directed aggression.

It is called maleness.

In Women After All, Melvin Konner traces the arc of evolution to explain the relationships between women and men. With patience and wit, he explores the knotty question of whether men are necessary in the biological destiny of the human race. He draws on multiple colorful examples from the natural world - such as the mating habits of the octopus, black widow, angler fish, and jacana - and argues that maleness in humans is hardly necessary to the survival of the species.

In characteristically humorous and engaging prose, Konner sheds light on our biologically different identities while noting the poignant exceptions that challenge the male/female divide. We meet hunter-gatherers such as those in Botswana, whose culture gave women a prominent place, invented the working mother, and respected women's voices around the fire. Recent human history has upset this balance, as a dense world of war fostered extreme male dominance. But our species has been recovering over the past two centuries, and an unstoppable move toward equality is afoot. It will not be the end of men, but it will be the end of male supremacy and a better, wiser world for women and men alike. Provocative and richly informed, Women After All is bound to be controversial across the sexes.

©2015 Melvin Konner (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Excellent and thought provoking

This was an excellent book. As a molecular and evololutionary biologist, his biological arguments are sound. What I've taken away from this book is that, to be successful and happy (both as individuals and communities), we should admire and value the traits associated with women rather than men, and thus, men should strive to emulate women, rather than the other way around.

Something I’ve always felt in my heart

Now I understand intellectually how spot on my feelings were. Appreciative of all the work that went into this excellent novel 👍👍

Interesting and Relevant for all to Read

Tons of great information. Interesting tone to the author's opinions but filled with facts and stories from history and the present that she's much needed light on how we see gender issues and power on earth.