Women After All: Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacy by Melvin Konner MD | Gender Studies Book on Female Empowerment | Perfect for Feminism Discussions & Sociology Research (2015)

"Women After All" is an incredibly fascinating book. Konner presents an extreme and controversial thesis for the sake of grabbing people's attention, and then peddles backward in what becomes a rational and far-reaching discussion of gender differences across species (with eventual emphasis on humans, of course). I enjoyed the way he walked the reader through animal and human history with light humor and many references to research studies. His critique of men is more nuanced than the title of the book would suggest, and although he spends a few paragraphs here and there on what a world completely run (or even occupied solely) by women might be like, it is obvious that these are thought experiments--intended to extend one line of thinking to an unlikely, if interesting, conclusion--and not suggestions or predictions. He argues that gender equality (the end of male supremacy, but not the start of female supremacy) is necessary for a free, peaceful, and thriving world, and makes a good case for why an equal world is better for both genders. It actually seems like a pretty moderate stance to me.Some of my views were challenged, some were sustained, and other ideas were introduced that I had never known or thought about before. Women's rights has always been an interest of mine, but few books on the subject leave me with a feeling of good will and the belief that we are inevitably heading in the right direction. After finishing this book, I am left with a sense of optimism that I haven't felt for a long, long time.