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Feminism and the Politics of Reproductive Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Laurette T. Liesen
Laurette T. Liesen*
Affiliation:
Loyola University of Chicago, USA
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Abstract

Feminists have often been among the most outspoken critics of sociobiology, maintaining that sociobiology is inherently sexist and that it is used to uphold patriarchy. This article examines the latest research by scholars—many of them women—who have used a sociobiological approach to expand our understanding of female behavior. It shows that sociobiology recognizes complexity in human reproductive behavior and that members of both sexes employ a variety of reproductive strategies, depending upon their environments. Women are not necessarily sexually passive within the sociobiological paradigm, and they are not “naturally” parents; moreover, men clearly play a necessary and significant role in parenting. Women do have reproductive interests that are separate from those of men, and these interests clash. Despite these conflicts of reproductive interest, however, men and women can develop cooperative relationships to achieve their mutual goal of raising children to maturity. Patriarchy is not—within the sociobiological paradigm—a natural order between males and females. Sociobiology also does not suggest that women should be restricted to parenting roles; indeed, sociobiological research can provide the basis for greater freedom for both men and women in reproduction and resource acquisition.

Type
Roundtable Article
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , August 1995 , pp. 145 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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