- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (20 Dec 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415934753
- ISBN-13: 978-0415934756
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15 x 1 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,271,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
"The Caveman Mystique sits at the intersection of feminism, cultural studies, science studies, and sociology of the body. As such, it would be an excellent monograph to assign in a class addressing any of these or their intersections. More generally, HBE logic, whether we want it to or not, infuses all of our classrooms. In this sense, we all have an opportunity to question "the [exclusive] right of scientists to comment on complex cultural practices" (p. 128) and to insist on the importance of feminist sociological contributions. For anyone who desires to do so, this book is an excellent way to catch up on the politics and poetics of this compelling and pervasive mythology." -- Lisa Wade, Gender and Society, April 2008
"...McCaughey seeks to shift our understanding of science from a practice and methodology evaluated by objective standards to a cultural discourse influences by social relations and power." --Feminist Collections, Vol. 29, No. 3-4, Summer-Fall 2008
Product Description
Has evolution made men promiscuous skirt chasers? Pop-Darwinian claims about men's irrepressible heterosexuality have become increasingly common, and increasingly common excuses for men's sexual aggression. The Caveman Mystique traces such claims about the hairier sex through evolutionary science and popular culture. After outlining the social and historical context of the rise of pop-Darwinism's assertions about male sexuality and their appeal to many men, Martha McCaughey shows how evolutionary discourse can get lived out as the biological truth of male sexuality.
Although evolutionary scientists want to use their theories to solve social problems, evolutionary narratives get invoked by men looking for a Darwinian defense of bad-boy behaviors. McCaughey argues that evolution has nearly replaced religion as a moral guide for understanding who we are and what we must overcome to be good people.
Bringing together insights from the fields of science studies, body studies, feminist theory and queer theory, The Caveman Mystique offers a fresh understanding of science, science popularization, and the impact of science on men's identities making a convincing case for deconstructing, rather than defending, the caveman.
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First Sentence
If you were stranded on a deserted island with a woman, would you rape her? Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
If you were stranded on a deserted island with a woman, would you rape her? Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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2 reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
How science influences society, and vice versa.
9 Jun 2010
Format:Hardcover
While the author may not be a biologist, she demonstrates how pop-darwinism has influenced mainstream society, often for the worse. I certainly have a lot of respect and interest in Evolutionary Psychology, but this book made me think about a lot of its claims in a different light. An excellent book to read whether your interest is biology or social sciences.
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Recommended, but with Reservations
30 July 2008
Format:Paperback
This slim volume offers a survey of how Darwinism has been abused in popular science literature to justify the ideology of patriarchy. Unfortunately for the author, her misreading of Darwinism, lack of understanding of Baldwinian selection, as well as some evident philosophical blunders overshadows the important message she conveys. One example of her misunderstanding of Darwinism is in her hypothetical example of how male impotence could be selected for. McCaughey forgets that her example as stated works ONLY if individual organisms are the unit of selection. However, as Dawkins points out, and what is now widely accepted, is that genes are the units of selection. She also tends to hedge considerably with her use of soft language; which, though common in the social sciences, is quite useless to demonstrate anything of value, and tends to mislead uncritical readers.
This book is interesting, and worth reading, but only if read carefully, cautiously, and critically.
This book is interesting, and worth reading, but only if read carefully, cautiously, and critically.
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