Different: Gender Through The Eyes Of A Primatologist by Frans de Waal

Merits: Frans de Waal is the C. H. Candler Professor Emeritus of Primate Behavior at Emory University and the former director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. As a world renowned primatologist he has authored several New York Times bestsellers including Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

Material: This book analyzes gender and biological sex and how they relate to one another specifically in primate societies. Drawing on decades of observation on human and animal behavior, Frans debunks the claim that traditional gender roles in human societies are wholly reinforced by nature. He challenges widely held beliefs regarding femininity and masculinity using chimps and bonobos, two of our closest genetic relatives from the animal kingdom.

Grade: The Friz. This book is entertaining, thought provoking, and covers a lot of monkey sex. It’s a fascinating study of the behavioral differences between chimpanzees and bonobos who, like humans, possess a kaleidoscope of differences and similarities that demonstrates how biology doesn’t necessarily support traditional gender roles.