Abstract
… [W]omen are not equal to men; they are superior in many ways, and in most ways that will matter in the future. (Konner, 2015, p. 3; italics added)
In Women After All: Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacy, Melvin Konner argues that male domination is an anomaly of human history, not a natural state for the human species. Specifically, Konner suggests that male supremacy is largely an effect of an oppressive social arrangement, namely civilization, which began with the invention of agriculture when humans began to form permanent settlements. Permanent settlements enabled men to be able to accumulate resources and allowed population densities to increase mainly through higher birth rates. Higher population densities placed more intense pressure on the land’s resources. Therefore, it became necessary for men to form coalitions with neighbors to defend against intruders. Power became concentrated in the hands of a few men, leading to a stratified society where male supremacy and female subordination reigned and male violence and war intensified. Today, Konner argues that technology limits the need for the muscle and strength of men, and male domination has outlived its purpose and is maladaptive. Therefore, empowering women is the next step in human evolution. Through empowering women, equality between the sexes will be restored and man-made disasters, such as wars, sex scandals, and financial corruption, will significantly decrease or be eliminated since women (who Konner claims are less emotional than men) will be in positions of leadership and power.
The various chapters of the book provide evidence for various aspects of Konner’s argument. In the Introduction “Stronger Than All Besides,” Konner introduces human sex differences, which he considers to be mostly due to biology through intrinsic differences in the body and brain, informing readers that women have greater life expectancies than men, have lower mortality at all ages, are more resistant to many diseases, and suffer less from certain brain defects (e.g., attention deficit, hyperactivity, hypersexuality, and conduct disorder). In fact, Konner goes so far as to present “maleness” as a birth defect called X-chromosome deficiency syndrome that affects 49% of the human species.
In Chapter 1 “Diverge, Say the Cells,” Konner reviews sexual development focusing on how human fetuses are by default female unless genes on the Y-chromosome trigger maleness. Further, Konner proposes that pseudohermaphrodites (i.e., individuals with ambiguous genitalia) and transexuals are the exceptions that prove the rules of his argument. For instance, individuals with androgen insensitivity syndrome have an XY genotype but lack androgen receptors or cannot make androgens and, therefore, typically look and behave like females, showing no signs of maleness in their brains, behavior, or sexual orientation. Moreover, Konner reviews animal evidence to demonstrate that culture is not the key determinant of gender identity.
Chapter 2 “Hidden in Darkness” and Chapter 3 “Picky Females, Easy Males” provide an overview of evolutionary theories of sex and gender. Chapter 2 reviews various modes of reproduction, such as asexual reproduction and facultative asexuality, to allow readers to grasp why sex exists despite what John Maynard-Smith (1978) identified as the twofold costs of producing males. That is, the advantage of sex is that it creates variation and allows species to outsmart germs, otherwise, known as the Red Queen Hypothesis. Chapter 3 focuses on sexual selection theory, including the Trivers–Willard hypothesis (Trivers & Willard, 1973) and the three hypotheses of how and why sexually selected traits evolved: as indicators of good genes (Hamilton and Zuk, 1982), as handicaps (or fitness indicators; Zahavi, 1975), and through runaway sexual selection (also known as the Sexy Son hypothesis; Fisher, 1930). Konner provides examples of animals with different mating systems, such as the extremely sexually dimorphic elephant seal and sex-role reversed cassowaries and jacanas, to make readers realize that sex roles are determined by the sexual selection and parental investment within the species and that male domination is not anymore natural than female domination or equality between the sexes. He continues these examples in Chapter 4 “Primate Possibilities,” focusing on how the mating systems of various primates impact their social behavior. He comments on how female-dominated primatology has been since its inception, mentioning the work of Sarah Hrdy, Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, and Birute Galdikas on langurs, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, respectively. Konner further suggests that field studies done by women are inherently feminist and that female primatologists may have noticed specific aspects of primate sex roles that males would have missed.
In Chapter 5 “Equal Origins?” Konner focuses on hunter-gatherer among whom he believes male domination was not possible due to several ecological factors. Specifically, the small group size, low population density, and reliance on women’s contributions for subsistence did not allow males to dismiss women’s ideas. Furthermore, Konner suggests that sex differences in labor—men hunting and women gathering—were critical to women’s power. Men had to be quiet during hunts. However, women were able to discuss issues of the group and form alliances while gathering. Also, mutual dependence of the group and the lack of separate public and private spheres restrained male power and domination.
However, as Konner discusses in Chapter 6 “Cultivating Dominance,” women’s role and power in the group changed dramatically as populations began to increasingly shift to an agricultural lifestyle. While Konner notes that early patriarchy in farming and herding communities may have been weak, he argues that male domination became increasingly prevalent as physical strength and aggression came to be more and more valued due to the need to protect resources such as crops, grazing lands, and livestock. Moreover, major aspects of social life including discussions of politics, economics, and defense began to take place in public spaces, while females were largely confined to the private space of the home, producing a physical distance that was not present in hunter-gatherer communities and effectively reducing the social status of women over time.
Konner also explores factors such as marriage and polygyny, noting the work of Zerjal et al. (2003), which found that about 16 million men currently alive are genetic descendants of 1 man (most likely the conqueror and polygynist Genghis Khan). Konner suggests that the reproductive success experienced by male ancestors who engaged in violence and male domination are reflected in many of the men living in the modern world, despite these tactics no longer being adaptive in the current environment. Konner expands on this idea in Chapter 7 “Samson’s Haircut, Achilles’ Heel” by discussing the limits to male physical strength and the ways in which both women and men benefit from the empowerment of women. Specifically, Konner argues that we will see the end of “unbridled, simplistic, classic masculinity” (p. 197).
Drawing on the central thesis of Ashley Montagu’s The Natural Superiority of Women, Konner continues his argument for the biological superiority of females in Chapter 8 “The Trouble with Men,” where he examines research in support of biological predispositions for behavioral sex differences (which he is careful to point out are further shaped by cultural factors). Konner brings up a wide range of evidence for the increased overall health and life expectancy of women, which he suggests makes up for any time spent on the “mommy track” and should negate discrimination of mothers in the workplace. Konner also attempts to combat the claim that women are less capable than their male counterparts because they experience hormonal shifts across the menstrual cycle. Konner focuses on a landmark study by Rossi and Rossi (1977), which looked at changes across the menstrual cycle and was novel for its inclusion of men. The results demonstrated that men experienced the same number of bad days in a month that women experienced, and Konner suggests these results actually demonstrate a professional advantage for women, leading him to raise the question, “Would you rather have your airliner or country piloted by someone who has bad days at random or someone who has the same number of bad days coming around like clockwork?” (p. 230). While this may be an oversimplification of female reproductive ecology, it does bring up the important point that menstrual cycle shifts should not be considered a limiting factor in the workplace.
In Chapter 9 “Developing Daughters” and Chapter 10 “Billions Rising,” Konner makes the argument that women are steadily and irreversibly progressing forward (citing examples such as the increasing number of women in higher education and high-ranking leadership roles) and this progress will eventually lead to a more peaceful world. Specifically, Konner argues that women must be discouraged from attempting to mimic men in the workplace, and, “as we’ll see, [women] are better at keeping their egos and anger out of it, and that often makes for better judgement and better leadership” (p. 266). Konner supports his argument by presenting examples of the beneficial inclusion of women in contexts ranging from high-ranking political officials to the disbursement of aid in developing countries. A central theme of these sections is that both women and men benefit when women hold more positions of power, and ultimately making the world a better place to live in.
Konner concludes the book by suggesting that humans will be able to direct their own evolution through reproductive technology that allows humans to control their reproduction. He provides examples of several of what he deems “bio-fantasies,” suggesting that the human mating system could evolve to be asexual like whiptail lizards, polyandrous like jacanas, polyamorous as lemurs, or monogamous like marmosets. Further, he considers a future where men become unnecessary (with women conceiving through artificial insemination with DNA from another woman’s egg) and are, thus, eventually eliminated. After walking through the ways in which the roles of men could be replaced by women or technological advancements, Konner concludes that this is, indeed, an unlikely fate for the human species. Instead, he suggests that the simplest solution is for humans to go back to the social structure that prevailed when humans were hunter-gatherers where males could not dominate women.
Overall, Women After All provides a thorough overview of the literature on sex and evolution that is accessible to readers without a strong background in evolutionary theory. While Konner’s argument that male supremacy will be eliminated through the empowerment of women is thought provoking (and he does provide a wealth of evidence to support this claim), there is reason to question whether this alone will lead to the end of male supremacy. Male violence and aggression is largely a result of intrasexual selection—namely, male–male competition for access to mates or resources to be able to attract mates (Daly & Wilson, 1983; Low, 2000). Therefore, as long as resources are able to be controlled by a minority of men and are unequally distributed, men will strive to increase their status and access to resources, in order, to increase their reproductive success, and this striving will ultimately result in aggressive and violent behavior. Furthermore, having more women in high-ranking leadership positions may make the likelihood of international disputes and war less likely. However, it will not decrease the number of local disputes between men and will, therefore, likely not impact things such as gang wars or homicide rates within cities. These issues aside, Konner’s argument promotes an interesting conversation about how an evolutionary perspective can help us to better address social issues and, perhaps, create a more peaceful world after all.