#713 Lucy Cooke - Bitch: On the Female of the Species
RECORDED ON NOVEMBER 7th 2022.
Lucy Cooke is a New York Times best-selling author, award-winning documentary filmmaker and broadcaster, National Geographic explorer and TED talker with a Masters in Zoology from the University of Oxford. Her latest book is Bitch: On the Female of the Species.
In this episode, we focus on Bitch. We start by discussing the difference between sex and gender, and where assumptions regarding the female sex come from. We talk about behavioral sex differences, how sex is defined, and hormones. We go through sexual selection, what females gain by mating with multiple partners, and the cost of sperm. We talk about how the study of the female genitalia has been neglected. We discuss if the female orgasm is an adaptation, and if there really is such a thing as a “maternal instinct”. We talk about mother-offspring conflict, and female intrasexual competition. We discuss primate societies, phylogenetic comparisons, and animal matriarchies. We talk about menopause and grandmothers. We discuss asexual reproduction, and if the Y chromosome is disappearing. Finally, we talk about the origins of gender inequality, and what needs to be revised in the field of evolutionary biology.
Time Links:
Intro
Distinguishing between sex and gender
Assumptions regarding the female sex, and where they come from
Where behavioral sex differences come from
How is sex defined?
Hormones
Sexual selection, and what females prefer in their mates
The costs of sex, and what females gain by mating with multiple partners
How science works
Is sperm really so cheap?
Studying the female genitalia
Is the female orgasm an adaptation?
Is there really a “maternal instinct”?
Cooperative breeding
Mother-offspring conflict
Female intrasexual competition
Primate societies, phylogenetic comparisons, and naturalizing patriarchy
Menopause and grandmothers
Asexual reproduction
Is the Y chromosome disappearing?
The origins of gender inequality
What needs to be revised in evolutionary biology?
Follow Lucy’s work!
Follow Lucy’s work:
Website: https://bit.ly/3z0aBTg
B*tch: https://amzn.to/3cbGOOE
Twitter handle: @mslucycooke