#617 Frans de Waal - Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist
RECORDED ON APRIL 18th 2022.
Dr. Frans de Waal is a Dutch primatologist and ethologist. He is Emeritus Candler Professor at Emory University, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Utrecht, and author of numerous books including Chimpanzee Politics, The Bonobo and the Atheist, Mamma’s Last Hug, and, more recently, Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist.
In this episode, we focus on Different. We first ask where behavioral sex differences come from, and how we compare to other great Apes. We discuss self-socialization. We talk about prejudices regarding gender. We tackle assumptions about ancestral human violence, alpha males (and alpha females), females having multiple partners, the male sex drive, the female orgasm, and forced copulation. We talk about aspects of human social organization, like male bonding, female bonding, and nuclear families. We discuss human paternal investment. We talk about potential issues with ignoring and exacerbating behavioral sex differences. Finally, Dr. de Waal gives us a summary of how to think about behavioral sex differences.
Time Links:
Intro
Where behavioral sex differences stem from
Comparing ourselves to other Apes
Self-socialization
Are prejudices regarding gender, cultural?
Ancestral human violence
Alpha males (and alpha females)
Tackling some assumptions: females with multiple partners; male sex drive; female orgasm; forced copulation
Are there “instincts”?
Human social organization: male bonding, female bonding, and nuclear families
Human paternal investment
Problems with ignoring and exacerbating behavioral sex differences
A summary of how to understand behavioral sex differences
Follow Dr. de Waal’s work!
Follow Dr. de Waal’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3NmD9M2
Works on ResearchGate: https://bit.ly/3NhHPmp
Different: https://amzn.to/3NzWzNJ