Mari Ruti is Professor of Critical Theory at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Director of Graduate Studies and Visiting Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University, USA. She is the author of five academic books, including The Summons of Love (2011), The Singularity of Being: Lacan and the Immortal Within (2012), and The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (2013). She has also published a trade book: The Case for Falling in Love: Why We Can’t Control the Madness of Love – and Why That’s the Best Part (2011).

With wit and directness, Ruti (philosophy, Univ. of Toronto) deconstructs popular accounts of evolutionary psychology regarding sex and gender. Being an outsider to the field of evolutionary psychology (her field is critical theory), Ruti positions herself as a nonspecialist reader and analyzes understandings of sex and gender as developed in literature targeting that group of nonspecialists. In the first two chapters, she outlines the standard narrative of sexuality and gender, as delivered in popular work on evolutionary psychology, by examining the work of Robert Wright and David Buss. In chapters 3 and 4, she uses the work of Geoffrey Miller and of Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá to outline some of the contemporary modifications of the standard narrative. In the last chapter Ruti proposes that current evolutionary arguments promote the mainstream understanding of mating behavior as a pillar for heteronormativity in terms of both reproduction and marriage. The author is insightful and clever in delineating the ideological implications of the logical and empirical limitations of evolutionary psychology, especially as presented to the general public. Interesting and intellectually stimulating, this book is a must read for everyone interested in psychology, gender, and sexuality studies. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals.

• Introduction 1. The Myopia of Men versus Women 2. The Ideology of Gender Difference 3. The Arrogance of the Backlash 4. The Downfall of the Coy Female 5. The Cruelty of Optimism Conclusion

Mari Ruti is Professor of Critical Theory at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Director of Graduate Studies and Visiting Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University, USA. She is the author of five academic books, including The Summons of Love (2011), The Singularity of Being: Lacan and the Immortal Within (2012), and The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (2013). She has also published a trade book: The Case for Falling in Love: Why We Can’t Control the Madness of Love – and Why That’s the Best Part (2011).

With wit and directness, Ruti (philosophy, Univ. of Toronto) deconstructs popular accounts of evolutionary psychology regarding sex and gender. Being an outsider to the field of evolutionary psychology (her field is critical theory), Ruti positions herself as a nonspecialist reader and analyzes understandings of sex and gender as developed in literature targeting that group of nonspecialists. In the first two chapters, she outlines the standard narrative of sexuality and gender, as delivered in popular work on evolutionary psychology, by examining the work of Robert Wright and David Buss. In chapters 3 and 4, she uses the work of Geoffrey Miller and of Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá to outline some of the contemporary modifications of the standard narrative. In the last chapter Ruti proposes that current evolutionary arguments promote the mainstream understanding of mating behavior as a pillar for heteronormativity in terms of both reproduction and marriage. The author is insightful and clever in delineating the ideological implications of the logical and empirical limitations of evolutionary psychology, especially as presented to the general public. Interesting and intellectually stimulating, this book is a must read for everyone interested in psychology, gender, and sexuality studies. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals.

• Introduction 1. The Myopia of Men versus Women 2. The Ideology of Gender Difference 3. The Arrogance of the Backlash 4. The Downfall of the Coy Female 5. The Cruelty of Optimism Conclusion

Mari Ruti is Professor of Critical Theory at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Director of Graduate Studies and Visiting Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University, USA. She is the author of five academic books, including The Summons of Love (2011), The Singularity of Being: Lacan and the Immortal Within (2012), and The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (2013). She has also published a trade book: The Case for Falling in Love: Why We Can’t Control the Madness of Love – and Why That’s the Best Part (2011).

With wit and directness, Ruti (philosophy, Univ. of Toronto) deconstructs popular accounts of evolutionary psychology regarding sex and gender. Being an outsider to the field of evolutionary psychology (her field is critical theory), Ruti positions herself as a nonspecialist reader and analyzes understandings of sex and gender as developed in literature targeting that group of nonspecialists. In the first two chapters, she outlines the standard narrative of sexuality and gender, as delivered in popular work on evolutionary psychology, by examining the work of Robert Wright and David Buss. In chapters 3 and 4, she uses the work of Geoffrey Miller and of Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá to outline some of the contemporary modifications of the standard narrative. In the last chapter Ruti proposes that current evolutionary arguments promote the mainstream understanding of mating behavior as a pillar for heteronormativity in terms of both reproduction and marriage. The author is insightful and clever in delineating the ideological implications of the logical and empirical limitations of evolutionary psychology, especially as presented to the general public. Interesting and intellectually stimulating, this book is a must read for everyone interested in psychology, gender, and sexuality studies. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals.

• Introduction 1. The Myopia of Men versus Women 2. The Ideology of Gender Difference 3. The Arrogance of the Backlash 4. The Downfall of the Coy Female 5. The Cruelty of Optimism Conclusion