The Biohistory of Feminism

by Carol Blakney, Abel Alves

The Biohistory of Feminism is a multilayered project that incorporates evolutionary biology to argue that behaviors labelled feminist by human cultures are already found in nature, and that there is no one path to being female. On a planet where asexual reproduction dominates, intersex and parthenogenesis exist and eusocial females contribute to their colonies without reproducing, being female goes beyond motherhood stereotypes dear to those who attempt to perpetuate a universal idea of male dominance in human history. Feminism exists naturally as a series of efforts to express oneself in a multiplicity of ways freely chosen—including the attainment of alpha status as a social animal, managing resources and forming alliances. Elephant matriarchs and alpha female bonobos were there among social animals before the appearance of human monarchs like Wu Zetian and contemporary politicians like Angela Merkel and cultural leaders like Wangari Maathai. Female dolphins and chimpanzees taught cultural traditions before the intellectual achievements of literary figures like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and scientists like Jane Goodall. The diversity of female expression in nature is natural.