Review of The natural superiority of women

Abstract

Reviews the book The natural superiority of women by A. Montagu (see record 1954-02431-000 ). The reviewer notes that it seems that this particular work is a polemic rather than simply a popularization of scientific material. Ashley Montagu, like other writers of our time, is concerned about the state of our society. Many of our difficulties arise, he thinks, because of the emphasis we place on aggressiveness and competition and our failure to promote loving-kindness and cooperation. These policies he sees as a consequence of the long-continued subjection of women. The psychological characteristics in which they excel have been systematically devaluated and thus both men and women have failed to stress the values which alone can insure the survival of humanity. If we can become convinced that the female sex is biologically and psychologically superior, that endurance and resistance to disease are more important than muscular size and strength, and that emotional expressiveness and social perceptiveness are more important than aggressiveness and mechanical skill, we shall have taken the first step toward the new emphasis our times require. The necessity the author sees to make the case that women are in all ways superior is responsible for the book's major defects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)