Testosterone Rex

Challenges conventional beliefs about evolutionary factors that are used to justify gender politics, outlining arguments against cultural stereotypes, in a call for a more equal society that recognizes the potential of both sexes. "Many people believe that, at its core, biological sex is a fundamental, diverging force in human development. According to this overly familiar story, differences between the sexes are shaped by past evolutionary pressures--women are more cautious and parenting-focused, while men seek status to attract more mates. In each succeeding generation, sex hormones and male and female brains are thought to continue to reinforce these unbreachable distinctions, making for entrenched inequalities in modern society. In Testosterone Rex, psychologist Cordelia Fine wittily explains why past and present sex roles are only serving suggestions for the future, revealing a much more dynamic situation through an entertaining and well-documented exploration of the latest research that draws on evolutionary science, psychology, neuroscience, endocrinology, and philosophy.

Prize history

• Orwell Prize for Political Writing

  2018

  Orwell Prize for Books, before the 2019 split.

  Shortlist