Caveman Mystique

<p>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. <em>The Caveman Mystique</em> 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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Bringing together insights from the fields of science studies body studies feminist theory and queer theory <em>The Caveman Mystique</em> 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. </p>