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Studies of the Human Body #1
The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
Internationally bestselling author and world-famous human behaviorist Desmond Morris turns his attention to the female form, taking the reader on a guided tour of the female body from head to toe. Highlighting the evolutionary functions of various physiological traits, Morris's study explores the various forms of enhancement and constraint that human societies have developed in the quest for the perfect female form. This is very much vintage Desmond Morris, delivered in his trademark voice: direct, clear, focused, and communicating what is often complex detail in simple language. In THE NAKED WOMAN, Desmond builds on his unrivalled experience as an observer of the human animal while tackling one of his most fascinating and challenging subjects to date.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
108 people are currently reading
1923 people want to read
About the author
Desmond Morris
238 books571 followersDesmond John Morris (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
August 21, 2020
The naked female body is something most sexually active heterosexual males love to stare at. Desmond Morris, anthropologist and bestselling author, does it for the length of 276 pages - and shares his observations on it.
Now don't get me wrong. Morris is a scientist, and his gaze is definitely scientific. He is no misogynist bent on objectifying women for sexual gratification. As he says in the introduction:
After informing us of his fascination with the human body, and the female one in particular, Morris goes on to run his gaze over the female form, from hair to the feet. In the process he feeds us fascinating information on the biological evolution of each body part, the cultural perception of each (including any taboos), and how the female is different from the male, and why. A major part of the discussion centres on sex, of course - because to an anthropologist, it is specifically the sexual differences enhancing the "femininity" of the subject, which leads to successful mating and reproduction, which is of interest. So obviously those organs which are fundamentally different from those of the male (eg: genitals and breasts) get more coverage, and expressly sexual treatment: whereas organs like the eye, lips, nose etc. are discussed more to highlight their difference from the same organs of the male of the species.
This book is a fun read. As usual, Morris writes fluently and has the knack of pulling the reader in. There are so many fascinating tidbits of information for trivia lovers, as well as in-depth discussions on human sexuality.
But the author's insistence on viewing the human animal as a reproductive machine seems a bit reductive now. (To be fair, as an anthropologist, that is the only view he can take.) The female body, and female behaviour, are analysed essentially on the premise of it being a child-bearing instrument. The author is aware that this view is problematic, and he takes great pains to illustrate how Women's Lib and feminism have recast the female body view drastically in the twenty-first century; so there is an effort to balance.
But like I said at the outset - this book is a male gaze. Scientific? Yes. Dispassionate? Of course. Misogynistic? Not at all! But still - it is a male looking at a naked female.
Now don't get me wrong. Morris is a scientist, and his gaze is definitely scientific. He is no misogynist bent on objectifying women for sexual gratification. As he says in the introduction:
To me, as a zoologist who has studied human evolution, this trend towards male domination is simply not in keeping with the way in which Homo sapiens has developed over a period of millions of years. Our success as a species was due to a division of labour between males and females, in which the males became specialized as hunters. Living in small tribes, this meant that, with the males away hunting, the females were left in the very centre of social life, gathering the food and preparing it, rearing the young, and generally organizing the tribal settlement. As men became better at focusing on their one, crucially important task, women became better at dealing with several problems at once. (This personality difference is still with us today.) There was never any question of one sex being dominant over the other. They relied totally on one another for survival. There was a primeval balance between the human sexes - they were different but equal.(Of course, this "different but equal" argument is problematic as it has been used by patriarchy apologists to prove that woman's place is in the home: but as the author is talking about the social evolution of humanity, it can be pardoned.)
After informing us of his fascination with the human body, and the female one in particular, Morris goes on to run his gaze over the female form, from hair to the feet. In the process he feeds us fascinating information on the biological evolution of each body part, the cultural perception of each (including any taboos), and how the female is different from the male, and why. A major part of the discussion centres on sex, of course - because to an anthropologist, it is specifically the sexual differences enhancing the "femininity" of the subject, which leads to successful mating and reproduction, which is of interest. So obviously those organs which are fundamentally different from those of the male (eg: genitals and breasts) get more coverage, and expressly sexual treatment: whereas organs like the eye, lips, nose etc. are discussed more to highlight their difference from the same organs of the male of the species.
This book is a fun read. As usual, Morris writes fluently and has the knack of pulling the reader in. There are so many fascinating tidbits of information for trivia lovers, as well as in-depth discussions on human sexuality.
But the author's insistence on viewing the human animal as a reproductive machine seems a bit reductive now. (To be fair, as an anthropologist, that is the only view he can take.) The female body, and female behaviour, are analysed essentially on the premise of it being a child-bearing instrument. The author is aware that this view is problematic, and he takes great pains to illustrate how Women's Lib and feminism have recast the female body view drastically in the twenty-first century; so there is an effort to balance.
But like I said at the outset - this book is a male gaze. Scientific? Yes. Dispassionate? Of course. Misogynistic? Not at all! But still - it is a male looking at a naked female.
June 26, 2007
Desmond's theories blew me away. They just make so much sense to me! I love it. I loved his thoughts on hair in particular...
Human hair just doesn't make any sense at all when you compare us to the other primates.
His explainations always sound reasonable and what's more - he can put his thoughts down in an interesting and fun way.
Human hair just doesn't make any sense at all when you compare us to the other primates.
His explainations always sound reasonable and what's more - he can put his thoughts down in an interesting and fun way.
March 15, 2008
I recommend owning this book, along with The Naked Man -so you can read them at the same time. The chapters about the various parts of the body are in the same order, and it is great to go back and forth comparing the evolution of features in men, with the same features in women.
January 12, 2009
Desmond Morris is a bit of a dirty old man - after reading this I felt I needed to take a shower, although there are some truly interesting insights into the female body if you can stand the grubby and voyeuristic tone.
October 26, 2011
everyone should read this to know how and why we are the way we are - extremely interesting!
April 14, 2017
¡Qué libro genial! Uno de mis FAVORITOS. Lo que hace básicamente es ir paso por paso (pedazo por pedazo, jajaja) analizando el cuerpo de la mujer y por qué es así. O en otras palabras, qué truquillos hemos desarrollado para poder ser atractivas y asegurar la sobrevivencia de la raza, muajaja.
Sí, sé que suena machista, pero no lo es en realidad, porque hay otro libro que trata exclusivamente del cuerpo de los galanes. Aunque, desgraciadamente, no he podido encontrarlo.
En fin, que ME ENCANTÓ. MUY RECOMENDADO. Hay un montón de curiosidades, y está increíblemente bien escrito, y abre la mente DE MUCHAS MANERAS. Yo se lo recomendaría a todo el mundo, porque hace que uno tenga más curiosidad por todas las cosas. Es tan entretenido y decidor. Hace que uno se acuerde de que la vida y la naturaleza tienen un motivo para el cual ser TAL CUAL ES. Y además, hace que uno se ría de sí mismo, cuando se da cuenta de que ha estado haciendo TODO LO QUE EL LIBRO DIJO QUE UNO HARÍA, de un modo u otro. Es decir, que las mujeres sí estamos al tanto de los efectos que podemos provocar haciendo o siendo una cosa u otra, jajaja, sea de un modo consciente o no.
Muajaja. Nos pillaste chanchito, Desmond Morris. Pero, a nuestro favor, los hombres son igual de obvios. El lenguaje implícito nos toca a todos.
Sí, sé que suena machista, pero no lo es en realidad, porque hay otro libro que trata exclusivamente del cuerpo de los galanes. Aunque, desgraciadamente, no he podido encontrarlo.
En fin, que ME ENCANTÓ. MUY RECOMENDADO. Hay un montón de curiosidades, y está increíblemente bien escrito, y abre la mente DE MUCHAS MANERAS. Yo se lo recomendaría a todo el mundo, porque hace que uno tenga más curiosidad por todas las cosas. Es tan entretenido y decidor. Hace que uno se acuerde de que la vida y la naturaleza tienen un motivo para el cual ser TAL CUAL ES. Y además, hace que uno se ría de sí mismo, cuando se da cuenta de que ha estado haciendo TODO LO QUE EL LIBRO DIJO QUE UNO HARÍA, de un modo u otro. Es decir, que las mujeres sí estamos al tanto de los efectos que podemos provocar haciendo o siendo una cosa u otra, jajaja, sea de un modo consciente o no.
Muajaja. Nos pillaste chanchito, Desmond Morris. Pero, a nuestro favor, los hombres son igual de obvios. El lenguaje implícito nos toca a todos.
June 28, 2014
I have ambiguous feelings about the explanations provided by Desmond; I love that his text made sense and almost everyone would understand because of the simplicity in his writing. Yet, I cringed at every generalization made.
I would describe the book as a wok filled with food; every time you shake it, variety of food comes to the surface. The text is rich and colourful. It is filled with history, ancient tales and beliefs, biology and theories of why women are the way they are...Oh, and there are photos which help to visualise some of the ways that women have accessorized their naked bodies.
I would describe the book as a wok filled with food; every time you shake it, variety of food comes to the surface. The text is rich and colourful. It is filled with history, ancient tales and beliefs, biology and theories of why women are the way they are...Oh, and there are photos which help to visualise some of the ways that women have accessorized their naked bodies.
June 20, 2021
A typical Desmond Morris going over a woman's body, from hair to foot. The famous human behaviorist taking his reader on a guided tour of the female body highlighting the evolutionary functions of the various physiological traits, and tried explaining culture and customs in perspective.
I don't agree with some sentiments(or guesses you could say) he made, but one thing for sure, he's good at this. I give him that. It also reminded me of a saying I read on "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil Degrasse Tyson saying.. "The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you." Desmond seems like saying "In your face" to that.
I don't agree with some sentiments(or guesses you could say) he made, but one thing for sure, he's good at this. I give him that. It also reminded me of a saying I read on "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil Degrasse Tyson saying.. "The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you." Desmond seems like saying "In your face" to that.
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July 31, 2011As usual, Morris shows very sloppy thinking in how he handles the interaction between nature and culture, a flaw he shares with many primatologists and evolutionary psychologists. When he discusses cross-cultural or historical differences in body image patterns and practices, he never questions whether universality or large statistical preponderance among cultures is sufficient to say that an attitude or practice is evolutionarily dictated or not. The only exception to this is his invocation of a very ethnocentric view of cross-cultural differences in female body-covering, foot-binding, infibulation, etc.; I agree with his opinion of these practices, but he does not theorize these discussions and they are out of tone with the rest of the book. He's not curious why some patriarchal societies resort to extreme covering-up and mutilation of women and others don't. In sum, Morris is not like many evolutionary psychologists or primatologists who are biological determinists—he's not that, he acknowledges that culture plays a role—but he seems terribly uninterested in exploring what the exact dynamic is between biology and culture. That having been said, for the lay reader there are lots of interesting discussions of changing fashions in female body care and attitudes, including an extremely up to date discussion of pubic depilation and topiary. But the body-part-by-body-part organization of the chapters means that there is no general discussion of female body image at all, e.g. the question of fat vs. skinny. This is of course one of the huge issues in this area of study and he barely touches on it. Lastly, I would complain that in places Morris's editorializing about changing women's fashions are sometimes retrograde and undiplomatic. He's perfectly free to be glad that 1980s power-suit shoulder pads went out of fashion, but the way he links it to whether a woman desires to be "feminine" or not makes him sound pompous, lecherous, and out of step. And if I react that way as a male reader, I'll bet many female readers were thinking, in places, things like, "Ick! Who wants to hear if some 70-year-old professor thinks the lower back is the sexiest part of the body?" His publisher should have assigned him a female co-author. But if it were to be a grad student, she'd better make sure the office door is kept open. This book is recommended for all dirty old men of a scholarly bent.
January 13, 2012
Si has leído el mono desnudo, no tiene caso leer este, es muy repetitivo, pero si no lo has leído puede ser interesante, aunque considero el mono desnudo y el zoo humano mucho más interesantes por abarcar un área más grande, también es un poco raro que un hombre caiga en describir a la mujer porque hay pequeñas cosas que no siento que sean verdaderas, quizá sea porque ya no son tan actuales, por ejemplo dice que la danza del vientre es una danza masturbatoria para hacer que el sultán eyaculara ya que era demasiado gordo para moverse solo y yo había leído hace poco que es una danza folklórica donde ni siquiera se tenía el vientre al descubierto, que esto se dio porque se trajo esa imagen exótica a Hollywood y de Hollywood de vuelta al oriente para darle a los occidentales lo que esperaban ver. También describe los genitales femeninos normales diciendo que es una raja y los labios mayores cubren a los menores, impidiendo verlos, y claro que esto es completamente falso, esta sólo es la imagen popular y puritana que conocen todos, diría que es más común que los labios menores salgan de los mayores.
Y pues no sé, en todos los agujeros ve una vagina y te explica como todos en diferentes momentos del tiempo han visto vaginas en el ombligo, las orejas, la boca y bueno sí, pero se vuelve cansado tener un estudio sobre la mujer que sólo gira alrededor del sexo, y por qué las mujeres hemos sido consideradas bonitas y por qué excitamos tanto a los hombres. Repito, si vas a leer un libro de él, mejor lee otro
Y pues no sé, en todos los agujeros ve una vagina y te explica como todos en diferentes momentos del tiempo han visto vaginas en el ombligo, las orejas, la boca y bueno sí, pero se vuelve cansado tener un estudio sobre la mujer que sólo gira alrededor del sexo, y por qué las mujeres hemos sido consideradas bonitas y por qué excitamos tanto a los hombres. Repito, si vas a leer un libro de él, mejor lee otro
May 19, 2023
Q:
This magic combination of friendliness and curiosity has been made possible by an evolutionary process called neoteny, which has seen humans retain juvenile characters into adult life. Other animals are playful when they are young, but lose this quality when they mature. Humans remain playful all their lives - they are the Peter Pan species that never grows up. Of course, once they have become adult, they call play by different names; they refer to it as art or research, sport or philosophy, music or poetry, travel or entertainment. Like childhood play, all these activities involve innovation, risk-taking, exploration and creativity. And it is these activities that have made us truly human. (c)
Q:
At the age of thirty, men are 15 times more accident-prone than women. This is because men have retained the risk-taking element of child's play more strongly than women. Although this quality frequently gets men into trouble, it was a valuable asset back in primeval times when, in order to succeed in the hunt, men were forced to take risks. Primeval women were too valuable to risk on the hunt, but the males of the tribe were expendable, so they became the specialized risk-takers. If a few of them died in the process, it did not reduce the breeding abilities of the small tribes, but if a few women died, then the breeding rate was immediately threatened. It is important to remember that, in primeval times, there were so few of us alive on the planet that breeding rates were all-important. (c)
This magic combination of friendliness and curiosity has been made possible by an evolutionary process called neoteny, which has seen humans retain juvenile characters into adult life. Other animals are playful when they are young, but lose this quality when they mature. Humans remain playful all their lives - they are the Peter Pan species that never grows up. Of course, once they have become adult, they call play by different names; they refer to it as art or research, sport or philosophy, music or poetry, travel or entertainment. Like childhood play, all these activities involve innovation, risk-taking, exploration and creativity. And it is these activities that have made us truly human. (c)
Q:
At the age of thirty, men are 15 times more accident-prone than women. This is because men have retained the risk-taking element of child's play more strongly than women. Although this quality frequently gets men into trouble, it was a valuable asset back in primeval times when, in order to succeed in the hunt, men were forced to take risks. Primeval women were too valuable to risk on the hunt, but the males of the tribe were expendable, so they became the specialized risk-takers. If a few of them died in the process, it did not reduce the breeding abilities of the small tribes, but if a few women died, then the breeding rate was immediately threatened. It is important to remember that, in primeval times, there were so few of us alive on the planet that breeding rates were all-important. (c)
May 3, 2023
funny and informative book, my first from Desmond Morris, more are yet to come.
November 3, 2022
I get the feeling that the author tries to convey that the purpose of the female body is to appeal to men. Femininity is apparently always supposed to be nimble, slim and small. I can imagine that many modern people would have a problem with how the author authoritatively states this. However, an interesting and easy read. It also provides historical and cultural info about the female body parts, from head to toe.
June 13, 2017
While definitely interesting with the multiple theories and the historical significance of many actions, and even comical at some points, I can't say that, as a modern day woman, I enjoyed this book the entire time.
The female body is praised, yes, and the biological excellence of the human figure is extolled in loving descriptions of our various appendages, yet the author adopts an unappealing, rather condescending tone. This always occurs when he allows opinion to influence his fact-based writing. With a superior air, the author, who does not possess the female body he knows so much about, patronizes the reader, and assumes absolute authority over the human female. In many instances, this book would be disastrous for the recovering anorexic or bulimic to read.
In a completely different vein, in a roundabout way, traditional gender roles are insinuated to be the correct "way" of life, as the author has been too influenced by culture. Yes, humans are specialized, and it is important to know the biological origins of this specialization, but in this era of equality where it was, astonishingly enough, discovered that certain acts are not limited to certain individuals, it's frustrating to read. It is also frustrating to see the female body solely as an object for (SPECIFICALLY!!) men to view with pleasure. It is dehumanizing. I suppose that was the point, but none the less, it was discouraging. I feel, if I read the male counterpart of this book, and men were treated the same way, I would feel more kindly towards this book. Despite the fact that, yes, we, as humans, are sexual creatures, the female body has other purposes besides (shockingly) being a breathing thing for the, again speCiFicAlLy!!, male to drool over and penetrate at his whim. As a sexual individual, yes, many actions I perform are intended to be sexual. However, despite having such a high libido, those specifically-sexual displays are (!!!) likely only 10% of my overall actions. I eat. I sprawl reading. I am more than an unwilling pile of skin for someone to shove their penis into.
(I apologize for turning this review into a mild feminist rant).
However, for the most part, I did enjoy the history of certain actions, and the portrayal of many viewpoints, as well as the appreciation of the female figure (despite the disappointing instances where it was not regarded as her own). I do understand the difficulty and delicacy of such a topic and I appreciate the importance of exposing varieties of inhumane mutilations and restrictions. This book exposes such actions, and, less importantly, serves as a crude road map to the female body for an ignorant female-fascinated male, or a slight exploration into history for anyone else.
The female body is praised, yes, and the biological excellence of the human figure is extolled in loving descriptions of our various appendages, yet the author adopts an unappealing, rather condescending tone. This always occurs when he allows opinion to influence his fact-based writing. With a superior air, the author, who does not possess the female body he knows so much about, patronizes the reader, and assumes absolute authority over the human female. In many instances, this book would be disastrous for the recovering anorexic or bulimic to read.
In a completely different vein, in a roundabout way, traditional gender roles are insinuated to be the correct "way" of life, as the author has been too influenced by culture. Yes, humans are specialized, and it is important to know the biological origins of this specialization, but in this era of equality where it was, astonishingly enough, discovered that certain acts are not limited to certain individuals, it's frustrating to read. It is also frustrating to see the female body solely as an object for (SPECIFICALLY!!) men to view with pleasure. It is dehumanizing. I suppose that was the point, but none the less, it was discouraging. I feel, if I read the male counterpart of this book, and men were treated the same way, I would feel more kindly towards this book. Despite the fact that, yes, we, as humans, are sexual creatures, the female body has other purposes besides (shockingly) being a breathing thing for the, again speCiFicAlLy!!, male to drool over and penetrate at his whim. As a sexual individual, yes, many actions I perform are intended to be sexual. However, despite having such a high libido, those specifically-sexual displays are (!!!) likely only 10% of my overall actions. I eat. I sprawl reading. I am more than an unwilling pile of skin for someone to shove their penis into.
(I apologize for turning this review into a mild feminist rant).
However, for the most part, I did enjoy the history of certain actions, and the portrayal of many viewpoints, as well as the appreciation of the female figure (despite the disappointing instances where it was not regarded as her own). I do understand the difficulty and delicacy of such a topic and I appreciate the importance of exposing varieties of inhumane mutilations and restrictions. This book exposes such actions, and, less importantly, serves as a crude road map to the female body for an ignorant female-fascinated male, or a slight exploration into history for anyone else.
August 23, 2022
This book tries to explore the female anatomy top to bottom, missing no inch of it. The initial chapters of the book were really interesting to me as it had more to do with exploring the generic differences between the sexes and the evolutionary aspects. That the human male and female were substantially different in their physique was something I was probably ignorant of till now. But as I later found out, I had friends far more stupider than me in thinking that the female body was not much different from the male.
Evolutionary and sexual selections have brought about so much differences that it maybe hard to believe that they belong to the same species. "Men are slightly more childlike in their behaviour, women in their anatomy". - The idea that the human female has a biology that has evolved to exploit the paternal responses of the human male towards the infant, simply blew my mind. There is even an official sounding word for this "Neoteny".
There are many places in the book filled with tidbits of information that may be eye-opening. And there are far more places in the book where it feels repetitious and giving "too much information" about too trivial things. Knowing about all the cosmetic enhancements women have traditionally done to every nook and corner of their bodies wasn't particularly interesting. An exhaustive list of these is something that I can do without. This book is also capable of teaching you a lot of body language. In this regard it would have been way more useful if it had more images placed contextually than in the end. Overall its a fact filled book that I wished I had read a lot earlier. Lets you in on a lot of biology, psychology, sociology, sexology - what not.
Evolutionary and sexual selections have brought about so much differences that it maybe hard to believe that they belong to the same species. "Men are slightly more childlike in their behaviour, women in their anatomy". - The idea that the human female has a biology that has evolved to exploit the paternal responses of the human male towards the infant, simply blew my mind. There is even an official sounding word for this "Neoteny".
There are many places in the book filled with tidbits of information that may be eye-opening. And there are far more places in the book where it feels repetitious and giving "too much information" about too trivial things. Knowing about all the cosmetic enhancements women have traditionally done to every nook and corner of their bodies wasn't particularly interesting. An exhaustive list of these is something that I can do without. This book is also capable of teaching you a lot of body language. In this regard it would have been way more useful if it had more images placed contextually than in the end. Overall its a fact filled book that I wished I had read a lot earlier. Lets you in on a lot of biology, psychology, sociology, sexology - what not.
August 18, 2013
Earlier this year before I graduated from my community college, a classmate in my Comparative Animal Behavior class recommended Desmond Morris to me (specifically this book and also the Naked Man).
The book was interesting and Morris did explain the technical terms he used. One thing with biology in terms of evolution is the explanation of not only how something came about but also the why. Morris does delve into his opinion of the why of the human body, but sometimes he doesn't lay it out all at once or at all. Morris will give you bits and pieces and you have to put it together yourself.
Additionally, Morris also delves into the cultural significance of body parts of women. Some of the things he addressed, I didn't even know was done (for example drilling holes in ones own teeth to put jewels in).
One thing that kind of bugged me has to do with Morris' references. What started it was Morris discussing belly dancing, specifically that belly dancing originated in the harem, due to a fat overlord and a concubine who had to do all work. Over time belly dancing 'developed into a visual display to titillate and excite the master of the harem.' Morris adds that some sources claim that belly dancing represents birth. Morris doesn't claim the former as his own or another sources (nor does Morris cite his sources). In the reference section, he notes a book on belly dancing from 1985. I had done my own searching and this harem idea, seems to have been popular back in the 70's. I looked at the Morris references and noted that (I could be wrong here)34 out of his 202 his references were published after 1995. This could be due to his referencing history in the text, but since he didn't cite anything, I can't be totally sure (this is what going to college does to you, your English teacher starts shouting in your head "cite your sources!").
Other than that, I really did enjoy reading this book. I think anybody interested in Biology/Biological Anthropology or evolution would get a kick out of this book.
The book was interesting and Morris did explain the technical terms he used. One thing with biology in terms of evolution is the explanation of not only how something came about but also the why. Morris does delve into his opinion of the why of the human body, but sometimes he doesn't lay it out all at once or at all. Morris will give you bits and pieces and you have to put it together yourself.
Additionally, Morris also delves into the cultural significance of body parts of women. Some of the things he addressed, I didn't even know was done (for example drilling holes in ones own teeth to put jewels in).
One thing that kind of bugged me has to do with Morris' references. What started it was Morris discussing belly dancing, specifically that belly dancing originated in the harem, due to a fat overlord and a concubine who had to do all work. Over time belly dancing 'developed into a visual display to titillate and excite the master of the harem.' Morris adds that some sources claim that belly dancing represents birth. Morris doesn't claim the former as his own or another sources (nor does Morris cite his sources). In the reference section, he notes a book on belly dancing from 1985. I had done my own searching and this harem idea, seems to have been popular back in the 70's. I looked at the Morris references and noted that (I could be wrong here)34 out of his 202 his references were published after 1995. This could be due to his referencing history in the text, but since he didn't cite anything, I can't be totally sure (this is what going to college does to you, your English teacher starts shouting in your head "cite your sources!").
Other than that, I really did enjoy reading this book. I think anybody interested in Biology/Biological Anthropology or evolution would get a kick out of this book.
February 18, 2017
This book is focused on the differences between the man average body and the female average body. But is not only about the body, the genres are also different in mind.
The main thesis of the book is that before Adam Smith, Henry Ford, and all this society of specialization, the first division of labour that our species had, was between mans and womans, and that made that the natural selection for mans and womans were totally different in some aspects.
Mans need to hunt, make big distances to gather food, take some risks in order to get food.
Womans need to create the clothes so the tribes with womens with thinner and more accurate fingers had more chances to survive the winters and ice ages, womans shouldn't like to take risks, because their are responsible to give the offspring to the tribe, for example, if a tribe with 4 womens in fertile age and 4 mans could have 4 childs in two years, they could produce the same amount of childs without one of the mans, it was enough that one of the others was fertile and they could keep producing babies at the same rate, but without one fertile woman, the tribe would have less childs, and consequently, less chances of surviving and propagate their genes.
A great idea is that man evolved to have the mind of a child, in order to take the risks that would generate the food that the tribe needs, and the woman evolved to have the body of a child, because with the body of the child they would trigger the protection instincts of the mans of the tribe, and a tribe with the more protection toward the womans, have more chances have a bigger offspring and consequently to propagate the genes.
The main thesis of the book is that before Adam Smith, Henry Ford, and all this society of specialization, the first division of labour that our species had, was between mans and womans, and that made that the natural selection for mans and womans were totally different in some aspects.
Mans need to hunt, make big distances to gather food, take some risks in order to get food.
Womans need to create the clothes so the tribes with womens with thinner and more accurate fingers had more chances to survive the winters and ice ages, womans shouldn't like to take risks, because their are responsible to give the offspring to the tribe, for example, if a tribe with 4 womens in fertile age and 4 mans could have 4 childs in two years, they could produce the same amount of childs without one of the mans, it was enough that one of the others was fertile and they could keep producing babies at the same rate, but without one fertile woman, the tribe would have less childs, and consequently, less chances of surviving and propagate their genes.
A great idea is that man evolved to have the mind of a child, in order to take the risks that would generate the food that the tribe needs, and the woman evolved to have the body of a child, because with the body of the child they would trigger the protection instincts of the mans of the tribe, and a tribe with the more protection toward the womans, have more chances have a bigger offspring and consequently to propagate the genes.
November 16, 2018
Każda kobieta ma piękne ciało. Nie, nie przeczytałem tej książki by dopiero się o tym przekonać. Lata tzw. obserwacji uczestniczącej w tej kwestii zrobiły już swoje.... Jednak po lekturze utwierdziłem się w tym przekonaniu jeszcze bardziej. Brytyjski zoolog, autorytet w badaniach nad zachowaniem ludzi i zwierząt Desmond Morris niemal na każdej stronicy swojej książki udowadnia tę tezę, przedstawiając ciało kobiety jako wspaniały efekt końcowy ewolucji trwającej miliony lat. Dla mnie ta książka jest przewodnikiem i mapą zarazem, które zachłannie studiowałem w tej fascynującej podróży po kobiecym ciele, od północnych jego krańców wyznaczonych kępkami czy kaskadami włosów na głowie, po najbardziej na południe wysunięte przylądki palców u kobiecych stóp. Pomiędzy tymi biegunami całe bogactwo wzgórków i zagłębień, linii i dołeczków, a więc tych miejsc, które nie tylko odróżniają kobietę od mężczyzny, ale też stanowią o jej atrakcyjności w jego oczach.
Dzięki lekturze "Nagiej kobiety" odbyłem też interesującą eskapadę w głąb historii. Dowiedziałem się które dołeczki uważano za odcisk palców Boga, który z palców poświęcony był Wenus, które części ciała nazywano kotłami Kupidyna, gdzie znajduje się romb Michaelisa a gdzie punkt A, znany również jako epicentrum, nie wspominając o punkcie G... jakie znaczenie w upowszechnieniu staników miał amerykański Zarząd Przemysłu Wojennego czy która część ciała Afrodyty została uhonorowana wzniesieniem świątyni w starożytnej Grecji.
Pasjonująca lektura, warta każdej, poświęconej jej chwili. Warto, choćby tylko dlatego by mieć "możliwie pełny obraz najbardziej fascynującego obiektu w świecie- nagiej kobiety."
Dzięki lekturze "Nagiej kobiety" odbyłem też interesującą eskapadę w głąb historii. Dowiedziałem się które dołeczki uważano za odcisk palców Boga, który z palców poświęcony był Wenus, które części ciała nazywano kotłami Kupidyna, gdzie znajduje się romb Michaelisa a gdzie punkt A, znany również jako epicentrum, nie wspominając o punkcie G... jakie znaczenie w upowszechnieniu staników miał amerykański Zarząd Przemysłu Wojennego czy która część ciała Afrodyty została uhonorowana wzniesieniem świątyni w starożytnej Grecji.
Pasjonująca lektura, warta każdej, poświęconej jej chwili. Warto, choćby tylko dlatego by mieć "możliwie pełny obraz najbardziej fascynującego obiektu w świecie- nagiej kobiety."
April 21, 2021
The author describes each part of a woman as if he wanted to eat each body part. This book could have been labeled as a potential cooking book.
The only body worth looking in this book is the one on its cover!
I threw this book in the trash! A waste of my time and money it was!
The only body worth looking in this book is the one on its cover!
I threw this book in the trash! A waste of my time and money it was!
February 20, 2023
Okay, until we got to the breasts, then you realize all you read so far was concentrated on his and modern western infiltrated societies view of how woman is a consumable for men, and not, you know, beings in their own right.
Currently reading
December 18, 2008everybody needs to read this book
November 27, 2012
great book, some really obscure trivia! well worth the read
August 12, 2025
Terrible book. The amount of off-topic babble about general (decidedly not female-specific) human behavior, body language or pseudo-evolutionary origin theories is insane.
December 14, 2008
Nearly as good as "Naked Ape", but not as far reaching.
December 3, 2021
Note: this is a combined review for The Naked Woman and The Naked Man.
Years ago I read Desmond Morris’ The Naked Ape, an anthropological look at humanity. In scrutinizing human beings’ animal nature directly, Morris was something of a pioneer. The Naked Man and The Naked Woman borrow that title’s naming trend, and provide a study of the human body from the top of our hair to the bottom of our feet. The result is an entertaining if sometimes opinionated study that mixes biology, history, culture, and speculation. Morris begins with the top of the head and moves steadily downward, although he spends proportionately more time around the head for each subject – understandable given how many different individual subjections our heads contain. Morris typically opens by describing the section of the body in question, commenting on its variations within nature, elaborates extensively on its use in body language, and wraps up with how the body part has been regarded, used, or abused across cultures. The study of how different body parts have been decorated or mutilated in some cultures provided fascination and horror at the same time. Although Morris sometimes repeats himself across the books, it isn’t terribly noticable unless you read them back to back as I did. A bit of repetition is unavoidable to some degree, since some body parts aren’t hugely variated. Sexual differences are enormous, though, and not merely the obvious bits that we think of; there are differences in shoulder size, forearm length, eye dilation and more that make the male and female distinct, and place sex well beyond surgical erasure. Both books abound in interesting information (like the importance of spit in sealing human pacts) and speculation – like Morris’ offering that breasts draw male eyes not for their parental potential, but for their similarity to the buttocks, where male primates across species have looked for sexual-interest cues. Although our bodies, male and female, are unalterably distinct from the other, Morris does not argue that one is better than the other; the male grip may be stronger, but the female grip is more flexible. We are partners made for the other, each possessing different strengths – not rivals.
Years ago I read Desmond Morris’ The Naked Ape, an anthropological look at humanity. In scrutinizing human beings’ animal nature directly, Morris was something of a pioneer. The Naked Man and The Naked Woman borrow that title’s naming trend, and provide a study of the human body from the top of our hair to the bottom of our feet. The result is an entertaining if sometimes opinionated study that mixes biology, history, culture, and speculation. Morris begins with the top of the head and moves steadily downward, although he spends proportionately more time around the head for each subject – understandable given how many different individual subjections our heads contain. Morris typically opens by describing the section of the body in question, commenting on its variations within nature, elaborates extensively on its use in body language, and wraps up with how the body part has been regarded, used, or abused across cultures. The study of how different body parts have been decorated or mutilated in some cultures provided fascination and horror at the same time. Although Morris sometimes repeats himself across the books, it isn’t terribly noticable unless you read them back to back as I did. A bit of repetition is unavoidable to some degree, since some body parts aren’t hugely variated. Sexual differences are enormous, though, and not merely the obvious bits that we think of; there are differences in shoulder size, forearm length, eye dilation and more that make the male and female distinct, and place sex well beyond surgical erasure. Both books abound in interesting information (like the importance of spit in sealing human pacts) and speculation – like Morris’ offering that breasts draw male eyes not for their parental potential, but for their similarity to the buttocks, where male primates across species have looked for sexual-interest cues. Although our bodies, male and female, are unalterably distinct from the other, Morris does not argue that one is better than the other; the male grip may be stronger, but the female grip is more flexible. We are partners made for the other, each possessing different strengths – not rivals.
November 19, 2020
Çıplak Erkek kitabında erkek vücuduna yönelik enteresan çıkarımları olan yazar bu kitapta da kadın vücudunu ele almış. Okunması çok keyifli ve epey bilgi verici bir kitap.
İlginç bulduğum bir kaç notu paylaşayım.
- Cindirella masalının orjinali Çin’e dayanır ve orjinal hali epey kanlıdır. Bilindiği üzere Çin’de küçük ayak oldukça takdir görür ve eskiden kızların ayakları büyümesin diye bandajlanarak acılar çektirilmektedir. Masala göre prens küçük ayaklı bir eş aramaktadır. Eş adayları arasında seçim yapabilmek için kürkten küçük bir terlik yapılır. (Cam değil kürkten bir terlik yapılır. Burada kürk anlamına gelen vair kelimesi fransızca cam anlamında gelen verre olarak algılanmış ve hatalı bir çeviri ile yaygınlaşmıştır.) İki kız kardeş seçilmek için yanıp tutuşmaktadır. Büyük kardeş seçilebilmek için başparmağını kesmeyi göze alır, küçük kardeş ise topuğunu kesecektir. Kan içinde kalan ayakkabıya Cindirella’nın ayakları uyar ve ayak fetişisti prens ile evlenir. Yüksek mevkideki bir kişi büyük ayaklı birini istememektedir. Sonra masaldaki iki kızkardeş çirkinleştirilmiştir. Ama prens güzelliğe değil,ayağa bakmaktadır.
- Kadınlar üzerinde yapılan beyin taramaları göstermiştir ki erkeklere göre daha konuşkandırlardır. Bu evrimsel bir gerçek olup,kültürel durumla alakası yoktur. İlkel kabile hayatında erkek avlanırken sessizliği bozmak için hırlama ile yetinirken,kadın iletişimi organize etmekten sorumluydu.
- Şeytan ve kötü ruhlar insan vücuduna açık deliklerden gireceği inancı eskiden çok kuvvetliydi. Kötü ruhların gireceği tüm delikleri kapamak veya bu deliklerin yakınına uzaklaştırıcı, şans getirici nesneler takmak bir adetti. (Küpelerin kökenine yönelik)
İlginç bulduğum bir kaç notu paylaşayım.
- Cindirella masalının orjinali Çin’e dayanır ve orjinal hali epey kanlıdır. Bilindiği üzere Çin’de küçük ayak oldukça takdir görür ve eskiden kızların ayakları büyümesin diye bandajlanarak acılar çektirilmektedir. Masala göre prens küçük ayaklı bir eş aramaktadır. Eş adayları arasında seçim yapabilmek için kürkten küçük bir terlik yapılır. (Cam değil kürkten bir terlik yapılır. Burada kürk anlamına gelen vair kelimesi fransızca cam anlamında gelen verre olarak algılanmış ve hatalı bir çeviri ile yaygınlaşmıştır.) İki kız kardeş seçilmek için yanıp tutuşmaktadır. Büyük kardeş seçilebilmek için başparmağını kesmeyi göze alır, küçük kardeş ise topuğunu kesecektir. Kan içinde kalan ayakkabıya Cindirella’nın ayakları uyar ve ayak fetişisti prens ile evlenir. Yüksek mevkideki bir kişi büyük ayaklı birini istememektedir. Sonra masaldaki iki kızkardeş çirkinleştirilmiştir. Ama prens güzelliğe değil,ayağa bakmaktadır.
- Kadınlar üzerinde yapılan beyin taramaları göstermiştir ki erkeklere göre daha konuşkandırlardır. Bu evrimsel bir gerçek olup,kültürel durumla alakası yoktur. İlkel kabile hayatında erkek avlanırken sessizliği bozmak için hırlama ile yetinirken,kadın iletişimi organize etmekten sorumluydu.
- Şeytan ve kötü ruhlar insan vücuduna açık deliklerden gireceği inancı eskiden çok kuvvetliydi. Kötü ruhların gireceği tüm delikleri kapamak veya bu deliklerin yakınına uzaklaştırıcı, şans getirici nesneler takmak bir adetti. (Küpelerin kökenine yönelik)
November 6, 2023
Ancak kadın ve erkek bu evrim sürecini tam olarak aynı şekilde geçirmemişlerdir. Her ikisi de çocukluktan yetişkinliğe geçerken oldukça uzun bir yol kat etmelerine rağmen, bazı özellikler açısından farklı oranlarda gelişim göstermişlerdir. Erkekler davranış bakımından daha çocuksu özelliklere sahipken, kadınlar anatomik açıdan daha çocuksu özellikler taşımaktadır. Örneğin; erkekler otuz yaşında kaza yapmaya, kadınlara oranla on beş kat daha yatkındırlar. Bunun sebebi, çocukluk çağlarında oyun oynarken sahip oldukları risk alma özelliklerini hâlâ muhafaza etmeleridir. Erkeklerin bu özellikleri başlarının sık sık derde girmesini yol açmakla birlikte, ilkel çağlarda bu onlar için oldukça değerli bir özellikti. Zira o çağlarda erkekler risk almak zorundaydılar. İlkel çağlarda kadınlar kolayca gözden çıkarılamayacak kadar değerliyken erkekler için aynı durum söz konusu değildi. Bu onların risk alma konusunda uzmanlaşmalarına neden olmuştur. Birkaç erkeğin avlanma sırasında yaşamlarını yitirmesi, küçük kabilelerin üreme süreçlerini sekteye uğratmayacaktı. Oysa kadınların yaşamlarına yitirmesi üreme oranını ciddi bir tehdit altına sokacaktı. Hatırlamamız gereken şey, o çağlarda bu gezegende sayıca çok az olmamızın, üreme oranının önemini oldukça artırdığıdır. Kadınlar evrim süreci sırasında aynı anda birçok şeyi birden yapmak konusunda uzmanlaştılar. Örneğin sözlü iletişim, koku, işitme, dokunma ve renk ayrımı yapabilme özellikleri erkeklere oranla daha gelişmiş durumdaydı. Çocuklarını besleyip büyütme, onlara karşı daha duyarlı davranma gibi konularda erkeklerden daha üstün durumdaydılar. Hastalıklara karşı da daha dayanıklıydılar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2021
The book is written from a zoologist point of view of the human female. Most of the book is the writer's observations and generalisations of how each part of a woman's body is used or seen as a sexual feature by males (he doesnt mention lesbians or any other kind of interest from another genders). These observations seem slighty unresearched, meaning I already know for instance that if a woman crosses her legs she is likey comfortable or in a defensive position. These observations made the book longer than it needed to be really.
There was some good research done which lead me down a rabbit hole on the internet finding out more about things like lip discs, copper neck rings, Chinese foot binding etc.... The most atrocious of all topics came from the chapter on genitalia. Female genitalia mutilation (FGM) also referred to as female circumcision, the author talks about it for about two pages, but that two pages was enough to strike anger and dissapontment in the human race and highlighting just how far we still need to go to be called civilised. Without spoiling the contents of the book I can say that FGM is nowhere near to being eradicated or outlawed in the communities and countires that it is still not banned from by law. Only recently here in Ireland (2012) was it banned by law, by the campaigning of Ifrah Ahmed an Irish-Somali woman who herself was cut in the name of tradition.
I took two stars off because most of the content of this book was waffle. But the topics that he did research and mention are worth reading and doing your own extra reading on.
There was some good research done which lead me down a rabbit hole on the internet finding out more about things like lip discs, copper neck rings, Chinese foot binding etc.... The most atrocious of all topics came from the chapter on genitalia. Female genitalia mutilation (FGM) also referred to as female circumcision, the author talks about it for about two pages, but that two pages was enough to strike anger and dissapontment in the human race and highlighting just how far we still need to go to be called civilised. Without spoiling the contents of the book I can say that FGM is nowhere near to being eradicated or outlawed in the communities and countires that it is still not banned from by law. Only recently here in Ireland (2012) was it banned by law, by the campaigning of Ifrah Ahmed an Irish-Somali woman who herself was cut in the name of tradition.
I took two stars off because most of the content of this book was waffle. But the topics that he did research and mention are worth reading and doing your own extra reading on.
October 8, 2022
Really enjoyed it. Seeing how each part of the female body has been sexualized at different points of history makes sense and is hard to read. Particularly the known importance of and critical theme of youth which is the basis for any stereotypical preference or construction of a “feminine” woman. Introduced new terms had never heard of before and made interesting connections to religious or folkloric beliefs about different body parts and their importance.
September 23, 2018
scorrevole, organizzato a brevi capitoletti (uno per ogni parte del corpo di interesse), pone uno sguardo scientifico su un qualcosa che diamo per scontato o che al contrario rivestiamo di significati "altri", ossia il corpo delle donne, trovando così una spiegazione (ma non una giustificazione) a certe aberrazioni che sono state e talora sono ancora praticate su di esso.
da leggere.
da leggere.
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