Why men? : a human history of violence and inequality / Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lindisfarne, Nancy, 1944- author.

Neale, Jonathan, author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Men--History.

Men.

Men--Social conditions.

Violence in men.

Patriarchy.

Sex differences.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

x, 444 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London : C Hurst & Co Publisher Ltd., 2023.

Summary:

"How did humans, a species that evolved to be cooperative and egalitarian, develop societies of enforced inequality? Why did our ancestors create patriarchal power and warfare? Did it have to be this way? Elites have always called hierarchy and violence unavoidable facts of human nature. Evolution, they claim, has caused men to fight, and people--starting with men and women--to have separate, unequal roles. But that is bad science. Why Men? tells a smarter story of humanity, from early behaviors to contemporary cultures. From bonobo sex and prehistoric childcare to human sacrifice, Joan of Arc, Darwinism and Abu Ghraib, this fascinating, fun and important book reveals that humans adapted to live equally, yet the earliest class societies suppressed this with invented ideas of difference. Ever since, these distortions have caused female, queer and minority suffering. But our deeply human instincts towards equality have endured. This book is not about what men and women are or do. It's about the privileges humans claim, how they rationalize them, and how we unpick those ideas about our roots. It will change how you see injustice, violence and even yourself"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : The parable of the Australian toilet frog

Part one : The evolution of equality. 1. Domination and competition among gibbons, baboons ... 2. ... chimpanzees and bonobos

3. How humans became equal by sharing meat ...

4. ... by sharing childcare ... 5. ... by sharing orgasms

6. ... and overthrowing the domination of bullies

Part two : The invention of inequality. 7. Agriculture, predatory elites and class

8. Naturalizing inequality

9. Why men? - 10. Salmon, pigs and rituals: are we wrong? - 11. Equality among rebels in the mountains and forests

Part three : Hunger games and resistance. 12. Who will die with him?

13. Cahokia: freedom and equality after 'collapse

14. The courage and clothing of Joan of Arc

15. Mutiny in a time of revolution

16. The gendering of torture at Abu Ghraib

Part four : Apologists for inequality. 17. Darwin, racism and sexual selection

18. Engels, Graeber and radical confusions

21. Chagnon, Pinker and war.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Other Format:

Ebook version :

ISBN:

1805260162

9781805260165

OCLC:

1375186913

Publisher Number:

99995990870