Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon

How did the female human body get to be the way it is? What did that do to help humans to grow and dominate. The author looks at the female body from both a biological and cultural perspective. Historical "Eves" were identified that were the first to have certain traits. At the start, these are millions of years old (such as live birth and producing milk). The book progresses to the more modern adaption. Cultural evolution such as gynecology, mating and sexism also come into play. The author looks at the historical sexist practice as having a mixed bag of benefits. (Cultural norms that had women eat last made it difficult on pregnant women. However, other practices ma have helped women. Today, these are seen as lest valuable. 

The author tries to tie in trans and gay women, but this ends up muddying things up. (These are historic genetic dead ends. Though perhaps that is the evolutionary point - they could be passed on when people lived differently than how they may have felt. However, noe people live how they desire - but also have more ability to have medical means to reproduce.) 

Exploration of non-child bear women is interesting. There are a few hypotheses. The grandma can help pass on information and assist in caring for younger children. The author seems to lean towards the "life extension" view. Humans have been able to extend their life, but the child bearing limit still remains. This has then given people the social advantage.

The book goes to extensive detail of differentiators between men and women and specific traits that help with reproduction. There are many great details. While many conclusions are very settled, there are some that are plenty of areas that are still up for debate. I am most hesitant to accept anything that our current cultural norms and practices are the ideal biological way of evolutionary reproduction.