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Martha McCaughey
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The Caveman Mystique: Pop-Darwinism and the Debates Over Sex, Violence, and Science 1st Edition

by Martha McCaughey (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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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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  1. ISBN-10
    0415934745
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0415934749
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Routledge
  5. Publication date
    November 1, 2007
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.25 x 0.25 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    176 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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

About the Author

Martha McCaughey is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of Women's Studies at Appalachian State University. In 1999 she was named the Emerging Woman Scholar in the U.S. by the American Association of University Women.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (November 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0415934745
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415934749
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

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Martha McCaughey

Martha McCaughey

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4 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Peter Bauer
    5.0 out of 5 stars There are so many good quoteable sections of this book that I was carrying ...
    Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2017
    I got this book not quite knowing what to expect and was blown away by it's genius. McCaughey goes through so much mythology about prehistoric people and dispels it effortlessly. There are so many good quoteable sections of this book that I was carrying it around for a while. I'm still in the process of writing a longer review for my blog, but felt the need to post here. She weaves together so much in such a short span that it's a book I will need to re-read several times. Half the pages are dog-eared for paragraphs that made me think deeply. It is super relevant to any field of evolution or mythology or philosophy. As someone who is constantly battling the mythology of prehistory in the work that I do, McCaughey has given me so much more to work with. Endlessly thankful this book exists. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kelson Kugler
    5.0 out of 5 stars How science influences society, and vice versa.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2010
    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.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Timothy G. Patten
    1.0 out of 5 stars A biased endevour, but is a sexist failure
    Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    An biased attempt, but fails on many fronts. The author tries very hard to explain male behavior. She wants to explain why MEN rape women, why MEN are aggressive and why MEN ogle women. Phew. She asserts that men are BAD and women are victims, like every other good feminist or women's studies major. She ends up being another female trying to understand men... and she cannot. She is female and not male.
    IN THE REAL WORLD, far away from women's academia: WOMEN rape men. WOMEN are aggressive. WOMEN ogle men. All at near the same rates and men do to women! This author should look deep into her own soul to discover her own power driven need to blame aggression on MEN, as that is the motivation for rape. EVERY human has these behaviors. Shame on the author for hating men.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • J. S. Lewis
    4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended, but with Reservations
    Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2008
    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.
    10 people found this helpful
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