The Trouble with Nature: Sex in Science and Popular Culture

by Roger N. Lancaster

Book Overview

Roger N. Lancaster provides the definitive rebuttal of evolutionary just-so stories about men, women, and the nature of desire in this spirited expos of the heterosexual fables that pervade popular culture, from prime-time sitcoms to scientific theories about the so-called gay gene. Lancaster links the recent resurgence of biological explanations for gender norms, sexual desires, and human nature in general with the current pitched battles over sexual...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520236203
• ISBN13: 9780520236202
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 455 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Lively, Provocative, and Funny -- It Changed My Mind

Before I read The Trouble with Nature, I thought there was some evidence for a gay gene. I also thought that gender differences were "hardwired" in our basic biology and had their origins in human evolution. This engaging, myth-busting book shows what's wrong with these (and other) widespread ideas.High Points: I enjoyed the lively analysis of how biology gets (mis)used and (mis)understood in popular culture (TV, newspapers) -- and I especially learned from the section on anthropology, which shows that "human nature" comes in many varieties.