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Hormonal: The Hidden Intelligence of Hormones -- How They Drive Desire, Shape Relationships, Influence Our Choices, and Make Us Wiser
The hidden intelligence of the hormonal cycle and its role in empowering women to succeed sexually, reproductively, and socially.
Hormones don't make women irrational; they help women choose mates, compete with female rivals, produce healthy offspring, and conquer other biological challenges. With fresh insight, Martie Haselton explains how the fertility cycle has evolved over millions of years into a fine-tuned signaling system. Among the fascinating findings: During ovulation, women's attractiveness peaks because their "mate search effort" is turned on. Their walking gait, voice, skin condition, and dance moves are more alluring, and they wear more revealing clothes. They also tend to shop more. Being on the Pill affects women's preferences in men, and PMS may have evolved to get rid of boyfriends with unfit sperm. The research is provocative, but Haselton also presents practical advice for women to use their hormonal cycles to their advantage, helping them achieve success in their relationships, careers, and lives. Groundbreaking and counter-intuitive, HORMONAL will empower women everywhere to embrace their biology.
Hormones don't make women irrational; they help women choose mates, compete with female rivals, produce healthy offspring, and conquer other biological challenges. With fresh insight, Martie Haselton explains how the fertility cycle has evolved over millions of years into a fine-tuned signaling system. Among the fascinating findings: During ovulation, women's attractiveness peaks because their "mate search effort" is turned on. Their walking gait, voice, skin condition, and dance moves are more alluring, and they wear more revealing clothes. They also tend to shop more. Being on the Pill affects women's preferences in men, and PMS may have evolved to get rid of boyfriends with unfit sperm. The research is provocative, but Haselton also presents practical advice for women to use their hormonal cycles to their advantage, helping them achieve success in their relationships, careers, and lives. Groundbreaking and counter-intuitive, HORMONAL will empower women everywhere to embrace their biology.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2018
180 people are currently reading
3785 people want to read
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January 18, 2025
It has become increasingly apparent to me that I have spent this year mostly reading books which were not aimed at me. I don't doubt that Dr. Haselton, Professor of Psychology at UCLA and "the world's leading researcher on how ovulatory [which GR spellcheck doesn't think is a word but I looked it up and it totally is] cycles influence women's sexuality", is fine with men reading her book, but I have to believe that her expectation (and probably the actual result) was for most of the readers to be people who ovulated (or used to). I can't quite recall what I was precisely thinking when I ordered it, but it might have been the idea that I should read it before getting Cordelia Fine's newest, "Testosterone Rex", wherein I am led to believe she will say that testosterone is not such a big influence on our behavior as we might think. You know, to see the arguments from a different side, one I am less emotionally invested in.
I don't know what Haselton's opinions on testosterone are, but she is definitely not here to tell us that hormones don't impact our behavior. She is here to say that there is a lot of hidden wisdom in the changes in behavior which happen across the ovulatory cycle (and the longer-term changes from adolescence to menopause), and we should not mess with it without considering carefully the consequences. She is not, for example, a big fan of using hormone therapy to, as she puts it, treat menopause as if it were a disease which needs to be cured.
But admitting that a woman's hormones are capable of influencing her behavior, can sometimes be a tricky position to defend, and I would guess especially so if you work in a university. She begins her book with a story of the infamous Dr. Edgar Berman, who in 1970 was a member of the Democratic National Party's Committee on National Priorities, and said "Suppose we had a President in the White House, a menopausal woman president who had to make the decision of the Bay of Pigs, which of course was a bad one, or the Russian contretemps with Cuba at the time?" Dr. Berman was later given an opportunity to walk back his statement, and chose not to, saying essentially that it was obvious that a woman shouldn't be trusted to make judgements like that with all those hormonal changes going on. It is apparent that Haselton is not wanting to end up being lumped in with Berman, as someone who claims that woman cannot be rational.
However, with either men or women, it is clearly untrue to claim that our hormones have no impact on our behavior, and while it is also true that you can generally use your rational judgement to keep hormones from driving your actions, that is a lot harder to do if you are kept unaware of what those hormones are driving you to do (or not do). Haselton's purpose with her book seems to be to provide women with that knowledge, along with some background info as to why we have evolved to have hormones that work that way.
Which, is where evolution comes into conflict with political progressivism. We normally think of politics that dislikes evolution as being a feature of the right, and so it can be in many cases. But, to suggest that our evolutionary past (writ into our very DNA, and the molecules like hormones that DNA provides the templates for) can bias or even limit our behavior, can bring a strong (dare I say 'visceral') negative reaction from progressives. It's apparent from (for example) Haselton's treatment of hormone therapy for menopausal women vs. her treatment of hormone therapy for adolescent transgendered, that she is situated somewhere left of center. But, to her credit, she is willing to stake her academic career on an essentially Darwinian topic; in the introduction she says, "I want to argue for a new breed of feminism, a new Darwinian feminism".
I wish her well, and I look forward to her next book. Now, perhaps, it is time for me to order the Cordelia Fine book on testosterone...
I don't know what Haselton's opinions on testosterone are, but she is definitely not here to tell us that hormones don't impact our behavior. She is here to say that there is a lot of hidden wisdom in the changes in behavior which happen across the ovulatory cycle (and the longer-term changes from adolescence to menopause), and we should not mess with it without considering carefully the consequences. She is not, for example, a big fan of using hormone therapy to, as she puts it, treat menopause as if it were a disease which needs to be cured.
But admitting that a woman's hormones are capable of influencing her behavior, can sometimes be a tricky position to defend, and I would guess especially so if you work in a university. She begins her book with a story of the infamous Dr. Edgar Berman, who in 1970 was a member of the Democratic National Party's Committee on National Priorities, and said "Suppose we had a President in the White House, a menopausal woman president who had to make the decision of the Bay of Pigs, which of course was a bad one, or the Russian contretemps with Cuba at the time?" Dr. Berman was later given an opportunity to walk back his statement, and chose not to, saying essentially that it was obvious that a woman shouldn't be trusted to make judgements like that with all those hormonal changes going on. It is apparent that Haselton is not wanting to end up being lumped in with Berman, as someone who claims that woman cannot be rational.
However, with either men or women, it is clearly untrue to claim that our hormones have no impact on our behavior, and while it is also true that you can generally use your rational judgement to keep hormones from driving your actions, that is a lot harder to do if you are kept unaware of what those hormones are driving you to do (or not do). Haselton's purpose with her book seems to be to provide women with that knowledge, along with some background info as to why we have evolved to have hormones that work that way.
Which, is where evolution comes into conflict with political progressivism. We normally think of politics that dislikes evolution as being a feature of the right, and so it can be in many cases. But, to suggest that our evolutionary past (writ into our very DNA, and the molecules like hormones that DNA provides the templates for) can bias or even limit our behavior, can bring a strong (dare I say 'visceral') negative reaction from progressives. It's apparent from (for example) Haselton's treatment of hormone therapy for menopausal women vs. her treatment of hormone therapy for adolescent transgendered, that she is situated somewhere left of center. But, to her credit, she is willing to stake her academic career on an essentially Darwinian topic; in the introduction she says, "I want to argue for a new breed of feminism, a new Darwinian feminism".
I wish her well, and I look forward to her next book. Now, perhaps, it is time for me to order the Cordelia Fine book on testosterone...
August 23, 2018
One of the most balanced and unbiased books I’ve read on the topic of human behaviour. The author has a very engaging way of writing and presents biological and evolutionary studies and concepts in an accessible way.
The books isn’t trying to paint women as being at the mercy of our hormones. It’s a scientific and fact based look at how behind the scenes our hormones are constantly directing our view of the world and making us better equipped to understand others and make choices that’ll lead to a healthy life for ourselves.
The author scatters anecdotes from her own life into the book and also provides lab-backed research and studies to validate her anecdotal findings. She also acknowledges when research is questionable and whether certain results should be accepted or further explored before coming to any concrete conclusions.
At no point does the book become preachy or political (quite a feat to accomplish in this modern age).
Overall, I found myself going “wow, that’s a crazy thing our bodies and hormones do without us knowing!” several times when reading the book. There are also certain studies and findings provided about men’s behaviours and “hormonal intelligence” and how those interact with female hormonal intelligence.
This book covers all the major hormonal milestones in a woman’s life and does an excellent job of showing how at each stage of life (puberty, pregnancy, menopause) our hormones are constantly working to keep us attuned to our needs and making us wiser. All we have to do is tap into this powerful evolutionary mechanism to better understand ourselves and our bodies.
The books isn’t trying to paint women as being at the mercy of our hormones. It’s a scientific and fact based look at how behind the scenes our hormones are constantly directing our view of the world and making us better equipped to understand others and make choices that’ll lead to a healthy life for ourselves.
The author scatters anecdotes from her own life into the book and also provides lab-backed research and studies to validate her anecdotal findings. She also acknowledges when research is questionable and whether certain results should be accepted or further explored before coming to any concrete conclusions.
At no point does the book become preachy or political (quite a feat to accomplish in this modern age).
Overall, I found myself going “wow, that’s a crazy thing our bodies and hormones do without us knowing!” several times when reading the book. There are also certain studies and findings provided about men’s behaviours and “hormonal intelligence” and how those interact with female hormonal intelligence.
This book covers all the major hormonal milestones in a woman’s life and does an excellent job of showing how at each stage of life (puberty, pregnancy, menopause) our hormones are constantly working to keep us attuned to our needs and making us wiser. All we have to do is tap into this powerful evolutionary mechanism to better understand ourselves and our bodies.
March 13, 2019
I like pop science books, but this is a little heavy on the “pop” and too low on the “science.”
November 25, 2020
The author has an agenda. She was called "hormonal" at work and has resented that ever since, and this book is her way of getting revenge. Right from the beginning the tone is very obvious - she is spiteful and overly defensive, implying how she thinks males are stupid and clueless and chauvinistic and that they have no idea about what hormones really do, and that the purpose of this book is to set them straight.
When a book starts out this way, I tend to discredit it a big deal already.
Firstly, you are doing yourself no favours by writing in this kind of tone. I felt she was simply validating her condescending male colleagues' point (about women being "hormonal") by behaving in the exact same manner one would expect of a "hormonal" female: overly emotional and not in the least bit credible.
Secondly, when you declare that your biggest driving factor in writing this book is to prove the men who insulted you wrong, it really makes me wonder how objective and impartial you could possibly be in presenting your information.
The emotionally-charged tone persists throughout the book.
I didn't learn anything new.
When the author tries to be more "scientific", she cites what she perceives as examples of behaviours that seem to prove her point. But we face the problem of confirmation bias here: when people unconsciously select data that support their views, and ignore data that doesn't. And when data that is at most ambiguous, is also claimed as supporting their existing position.
As a biologically female person, I never once related to any of the moods/behaviours/actions she mentions. Not a single one. Which really makes me question how much of all this is actual science, and not just pure speculation and wild theorising.
If you are looking for a book that discusses what hormones actually do and how they may have the potential to sway our behaviour, you're better off reading a book about biology, where facts are presented, and not opinions disguised to look like scientific evidence.
When a book starts out this way, I tend to discredit it a big deal already.
Firstly, you are doing yourself no favours by writing in this kind of tone. I felt she was simply validating her condescending male colleagues' point (about women being "hormonal") by behaving in the exact same manner one would expect of a "hormonal" female: overly emotional and not in the least bit credible.
Secondly, when you declare that your biggest driving factor in writing this book is to prove the men who insulted you wrong, it really makes me wonder how objective and impartial you could possibly be in presenting your information.
The emotionally-charged tone persists throughout the book.
I didn't learn anything new.
When the author tries to be more "scientific", she cites what she perceives as examples of behaviours that seem to prove her point. But we face the problem of confirmation bias here: when people unconsciously select data that support their views, and ignore data that doesn't. And when data that is at most ambiguous, is also claimed as supporting their existing position.
As a biologically female person, I never once related to any of the moods/behaviours/actions she mentions. Not a single one. Which really makes me question how much of all this is actual science, and not just pure speculation and wild theorising.
If you are looking for a book that discusses what hormones actually do and how they may have the potential to sway our behaviour, you're better off reading a book about biology, where facts are presented, and not opinions disguised to look like scientific evidence.
January 27, 2021
Пожалуйста, не делайте моей ошибки и не читайте эту книгу, если вам хочется узнать, как работают гормоны в женском организме. 300 страниц о фертильности, овуляции, поиске и выборе подходящего осеменителя — вот что вас ждет. Хейзелтог сводит все гормональные процессы исключительно к деторождению, постоянно повторяется, нелепо шутит и умудряется даже главу о менопаузе свести к детям (потому что бабушки должны помогать воспитывать их!). Невыносимо.
March 11, 2018
I think it’s important to bring subjects like this out in the open, because there really is nothing wrong with the fact that our bodies are subject to hormonal and biological influences. This is true for both women and men. But this book concentrates specifically on women. A PhD who directs the Evolutionary Psychology Lab at UCLA, Martie Haselton knows her stuff, and presents study after study to describe how hormones affect women at nearly every stage of life. Her research works to break down the barriers and taboos behind “hormonal” behavior. By sharing the science with other women, she hopes it will instruct and enable them to know their bodies better, and to use it to their advantage. I did feel, though, that the writing was bogged down by too many reports and studies, and a lot of it seemed to be hypothesizing vs. theory. Plus, she seemed to be making too many excuses early on for the fact that she is a nice-looking woman engaged in hard science. She really doesn’t need to rationalize herself. An interesting read, but not as fascinating and eye-opening to me as I had hoped.
May 7, 2024
The male bird struts, with his feathers wide as a palm tree. Or he has really blue feet. Or he surrounds a stunning nest with shiny objects. This is hormonal; the necessary demonstration of fit genes. How else does an animal who cannot talk inform a potential mate he's genetically fit? He has to advertise.
Then there is the human species. The human primate does this too, but we're not allowed to talk about it. We're not allowed to make the point that even our economic system, capitalism, is based on “mine's bigger than yours Ronnie” or as it is these days, my (nuclear) button's bigger than yours. This is so profoundly primitive. We are not an evolutionary advanced species when it all still comes down to blowing one another up. We are, in fact, ANIMALS, the worst of them all because unlike other "animals" we know what we are doing to ourselves, and we STILL DO IT! This is not an intelligent
species. Maybe we are in fact the dumbest. No, we are the dumbest wrapped in arrogance.
Like every other animal species on earth, hormones/sex drives EVERYTHING the human primate does. EVERYTHING. Wanting "it". Not wanting "it". Sex is the driver of human behavior over and above anything else, but don't EVER mention it because we are 'above' all the other animals. We're not like them. No, that monster truck he just bought to impress his girlfriend, that little human redneck, has NOTHING to do with 'wanting some'. In fact, we're not animals at all!
This arrogance is why the human primate will destroy itself: the inability (refusal?) to acknowledge that yes, we ARE like other animals: men with higher testosterone levels do commit more violent crimes; women who are pregnant DO get emotional; and PMS made her quit her job (again). These are hormonally based behaviors but again, for reasons that go beyond bizarre, we are not allowed to talk about this—that our hormones influence our BEHAVIOR and in rather strong ways, because WE ARE ANIMALS. As a species we are too arrogant to fully embrace this knowledge, and it will be our arrogance that is/will doom us.
I have always known that humans are affected by hormones and feel so strongly about the human species's repugnance over itself as an animal, both of my novels, but especially Phat's Chance, acknowledge the hormonal drives of my characters. Their biology/time of life is a primary driver of their behavior in the plot. So it was with delight I snatched up Dr. Martie Haselton's book, Hormonal, on display at the library in which she makes the points:
“There is a biological foundation for the behavior of both woman and men. Best to understand it rather than be ignorant...”
“These experiences are crucial to our understanding of what it means to be human. They also unite us with our mammalian cousins and even the colossal lizards that once roamed the earth.”
She calls herself a Darwinian feminist so the book is about the female human primate. It is a medical approach she takes, not anthropological or even all that sociological and while she does mention Stephen Jay Gould, she does not mention some of the classic zoological and anthropological accounts of human primate behavior, one of the first being the very daring and audacious book for its time (1967), The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris in which Morris explains human sexual behavior from a biologist's perspective based on evolutionary principles—again, in 1967! I was disappointed and surprised Haselton, being an academician, left any mention of this book out. She also makes no reference to the works of Jared Diamond (The Third Chimpanzee). To me, these were glaring disappointing omissions. Then again, she explains early on, she is an “evolutionary psychologist”. Nonetheless, deference and solid research should include at least mention of these early researchers and writers.
There are hundreds of books of all kinds that explain the different hormonal phases of the human female primate (menstruation, ovulation, etc.). The gist of her book however is based on the derogatory reference to when a woman gets “hormonal”. Haselton ties each hormonal phase back to human evolution and what the human species works SO hard to ignore (to our peril)--- that we are animals, and like other animals we are under the influence of hormones, and this is why we act the way we do. She advocates very strongly that we start acknowledging this and not in a derogatory way. Yes, she is HORMONAL because she is an ANIMAL and if you work to understand her, or she works to understand herself, we advance as a species.
“Darwinian feminism respects our biology and fully explores it. Women have the right to understand the history (herstory?) including the evolutionary history that has shaped our bodies and minds. We need better information about our biological and hormonal natures.”
“The next time you hear—or say---those words, (she's hormonal), consider that “she” is a grandmother, a mother, a sister, a friend, a daughter. “She” is one in the unbroken chain of women who were our ancestors living eons ago up through the present, and who are yet to be born and come of age, each one possessing a singular hormonal cycle. “She” may be you. “She” is me, and I am proud to be hormonal.”
While I don't totally get being “proud” about being an animal...I might have said, “and I am not threatened nor repulsed by seeing myself as a animal in the kingdom of other living beings that I share the earth with”, the point she is making is we must stop with the denial of our biology, our shared ancestry with other primates, our out of control behavior that threatens the entire future of the planet or said another way, “we're just monkeys folks. Deal with it.”
Then there is the human species. The human primate does this too, but we're not allowed to talk about it. We're not allowed to make the point that even our economic system, capitalism, is based on “mine's bigger than yours Ronnie” or as it is these days, my (nuclear) button's bigger than yours. This is so profoundly primitive. We are not an evolutionary advanced species when it all still comes down to blowing one another up. We are, in fact, ANIMALS, the worst of them all because unlike other "animals" we know what we are doing to ourselves, and we STILL DO IT! This is not an intelligent
species. Maybe we are in fact the dumbest. No, we are the dumbest wrapped in arrogance.
Like every other animal species on earth, hormones/sex drives EVERYTHING the human primate does. EVERYTHING. Wanting "it". Not wanting "it". Sex is the driver of human behavior over and above anything else, but don't EVER mention it because we are 'above' all the other animals. We're not like them. No, that monster truck he just bought to impress his girlfriend, that little human redneck, has NOTHING to do with 'wanting some'. In fact, we're not animals at all!
This arrogance is why the human primate will destroy itself: the inability (refusal?) to acknowledge that yes, we ARE like other animals: men with higher testosterone levels do commit more violent crimes; women who are pregnant DO get emotional; and PMS made her quit her job (again). These are hormonally based behaviors but again, for reasons that go beyond bizarre, we are not allowed to talk about this—that our hormones influence our BEHAVIOR and in rather strong ways, because WE ARE ANIMALS. As a species we are too arrogant to fully embrace this knowledge, and it will be our arrogance that is/will doom us.
I have always known that humans are affected by hormones and feel so strongly about the human species's repugnance over itself as an animal, both of my novels, but especially Phat's Chance, acknowledge the hormonal drives of my characters. Their biology/time of life is a primary driver of their behavior in the plot. So it was with delight I snatched up Dr. Martie Haselton's book, Hormonal, on display at the library in which she makes the points:
“There is a biological foundation for the behavior of both woman and men. Best to understand it rather than be ignorant...”
“These experiences are crucial to our understanding of what it means to be human. They also unite us with our mammalian cousins and even the colossal lizards that once roamed the earth.”
She calls herself a Darwinian feminist so the book is about the female human primate. It is a medical approach she takes, not anthropological or even all that sociological and while she does mention Stephen Jay Gould, she does not mention some of the classic zoological and anthropological accounts of human primate behavior, one of the first being the very daring and audacious book for its time (1967), The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris in which Morris explains human sexual behavior from a biologist's perspective based on evolutionary principles—again, in 1967! I was disappointed and surprised Haselton, being an academician, left any mention of this book out. She also makes no reference to the works of Jared Diamond (The Third Chimpanzee). To me, these were glaring disappointing omissions. Then again, she explains early on, she is an “evolutionary psychologist”. Nonetheless, deference and solid research should include at least mention of these early researchers and writers.
There are hundreds of books of all kinds that explain the different hormonal phases of the human female primate (menstruation, ovulation, etc.). The gist of her book however is based on the derogatory reference to when a woman gets “hormonal”. Haselton ties each hormonal phase back to human evolution and what the human species works SO hard to ignore (to our peril)--- that we are animals, and like other animals we are under the influence of hormones, and this is why we act the way we do. She advocates very strongly that we start acknowledging this and not in a derogatory way. Yes, she is HORMONAL because she is an ANIMAL and if you work to understand her, or she works to understand herself, we advance as a species.
“Darwinian feminism respects our biology and fully explores it. Women have the right to understand the history (herstory?) including the evolutionary history that has shaped our bodies and minds. We need better information about our biological and hormonal natures.”
“The next time you hear—or say---those words, (she's hormonal), consider that “she” is a grandmother, a mother, a sister, a friend, a daughter. “She” is one in the unbroken chain of women who were our ancestors living eons ago up through the present, and who are yet to be born and come of age, each one possessing a singular hormonal cycle. “She” may be you. “She” is me, and I am proud to be hormonal.”
While I don't totally get being “proud” about being an animal...I might have said, “and I am not threatened nor repulsed by seeing myself as a animal in the kingdom of other living beings that I share the earth with”, the point she is making is we must stop with the denial of our biology, our shared ancestry with other primates, our out of control behavior that threatens the entire future of the planet or said another way, “we're just monkeys folks. Deal with it.”
March 20, 2019
I can appreciate the importance of what this author is trying to do in terms of demasking hormones and their effect on us, but I wound up largely underwhelmed by this book. It spent the majority of its pages discussing pregnancy, childbirth, and how every other hormone we experience in any other stage of life is directly related to pregnancy, childbirth, and finding a suitable mate to facilitate all these things. Maybe I am just disappointed that this appears to be the bulk of what our estrogen-fueled experiences are about (biologically speaking, anyway). The author kept mentioning how we need to "take back" our hormonal intelligence, change the story, empower ourselves, but I consistently failed to see how this was being suggested -- especially when it all fell back on more baby talk. I acknowledge that there is a lot that is still unknown about women's biology, due mainly to the propensity to use male subjects in studies, but chronicling this unfairness while not offering much in return in terms of clarity just made me more confused about the hows and whys and what I should expect from my body, as well as the choices I make for it, going forward in life as a female.
April 15, 2018
I heard Dr. Martie Hazelton, a world leading researcher on ovulation and sexuality, speak about her experience writing and promoting Hormonal at a recent psychology conference and decided to pick it up. As someone critical of evolutionary psychology (not evolution) I was pleasant surprised by this provocative book. In an entertaining and accessible manner while presenting rigorous research, Dr. Haselton sets out to make the case women are “hormonally intelligent” and to call for more information on female’s brains and bodies. Presenting much of her own research, she argues that women possess estrus, and she examines the effects of ovulation on women’s desires and social behaviour. In sum, while I did not feel empowered after reading this book and it did not change my thinking on the subject, I had a new appreciation for evolutionary psychology and great respect for the ground breaking work being done by Dr. Haselton and her students in the UCLA evolutionary psychology lab. At times, I did start to find the book repetitive and so skimmed some parts of it, however, I recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about evolutionary psychology, especially from a self-proclaimed Darwinian feminist.
Thank you to Dr. Haselton for this fascinating book, and to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ebook advanced reading copy.
Thank you to Dr. Haselton for this fascinating book, and to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ebook advanced reading copy.
April 26, 2021
I picked this one up after reading Rossdavidh's review in December 2020 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). It was an audiobook on Scribd. I didn't learn anything new from this one and I didn't find it ground-breaking or eye-opening. If you are really interested in this topic, then yes, read it but if not, might as well skip it.
April 17, 2018
Overall, some interesting bits from studies either Dr. Haselton has conducted or other studies related to the points she was trying to make. Some examples: women lap dancers outearned their contraceptive-using colleagues, at least during their more fertile times, older women find beauty in most things, not just what is stereotypically cute, as in model babies, and women being more confident/attractive to others when ovulating. Just like with all scientific studies, these findings should be taken with a grain of salt considering the sample sizes and locations where they took place. I would have preferred more scientific talk about hormones and their outcomes on our body and behavior, but she did talk a bit about the main hormones in one chapter.
March 21, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Not only is it fascinating to learn the evolutionary history of our hormonal influences, but it’s so helpful for women to know what is happening with their bodies throughout their cycle so they can work with their bodies, prepare for days of rest (or restlessness!), and just be more in tune with themselves. Dr. Haselton really has a way of making discussions of tons of scientific research findings regarding hormones hilarious. I laughed out loud throughout the book. This is definitely a must read for all women.
July 22, 2018
I really liked this book. Very informative as well as entertaining. I wouldn't say it's ground-braking, but since I was (apparently) quite clueless about my own body, I ended up learning a lot of stuff.
April 10, 2022
I’ve loved learning more about women’s health, hormones, and the menstrual cycle and would recommend this book. I gave it four stars because there were parts I skipped, but overall I learned a lot and started noticing patterns in myself that were explained in the book.
Read
December 5, 2018astoundingly hetero-normative. but, some interesting info for folks with ovaries, etc (mainly chapter 3).
December 8, 2018
Should have reviewed earlier as I seem to have forgotten most of the detail already. It's a very informative book and a recommended read to all women to help us understand our body and hormonal cycles. I didn't much enjoy the tone of the book - the humour was too forced in my opinion but again it was interesting enough to keep me going.
There is a lot of comparison of our hormonal cycle and that in the animal (and insect) world. The author confesses that many things are still not known due to lack of research interest in this topic over the years, hopefully things change in future. Better medication suited for women, birth control mechanisms with low impact on women is very much needed.
On to the book - So yes, women are also influenced by their hormonal cycles - but we are not under it's control. Our brains and social context have more to do with decisions we make on mate choice and general behaviour.
(Parental investment theory - The sex that is required to invest more time and effort in bringing up children and that is biologically limited in number of children they can have will be selective in choosing their mate)
Really interesting looking at the ovulation cycle and number of hormones and their roles.
How human sexuality is different from animal world:
- extended sexuality(active through cycle leading to pair bonding), undercover ovulation(fertility is not advertised and helps women be selective with their choice and also wait till their bodies are mature to carry a full term pregnancy), menstruation(not many in animal world menstruate), menopause(many animals reproduce till they die)
Hormonal contraception - 2 choices
option 1 - using a combination of estrogen and progestin - this will stop ovulation (there is no egg released and it also blocks sperm entering the cervix)
option 2 - using progestin only - ovulation continues but contraception is achieved by progestin thickening the cervical mucus stopping sperm from fertilising the egg.(safer)
There is a lot of comparison of our hormonal cycle and that in the animal (and insect) world. The author confesses that many things are still not known due to lack of research interest in this topic over the years, hopefully things change in future. Better medication suited for women, birth control mechanisms with low impact on women is very much needed.
On to the book - So yes, women are also influenced by their hormonal cycles - but we are not under it's control. Our brains and social context have more to do with decisions we make on mate choice and general behaviour.
(Parental investment theory - The sex that is required to invest more time and effort in bringing up children and that is biologically limited in number of children they can have will be selective in choosing their mate)
Really interesting looking at the ovulation cycle and number of hormones and their roles.
How human sexuality is different from animal world:
- extended sexuality(active through cycle leading to pair bonding), undercover ovulation(fertility is not advertised and helps women be selective with their choice and also wait till their bodies are mature to carry a full term pregnancy), menstruation(not many in animal world menstruate), menopause(many animals reproduce till they die)
Hormonal contraception - 2 choices
option 1 - using a combination of estrogen and progestin - this will stop ovulation (there is no egg released and it also blocks sperm entering the cervix)
option 2 - using progestin only - ovulation continues but contraception is achieved by progestin thickening the cervical mucus stopping sperm from fertilising the egg.(safer)
May 23, 2024
Nowy feminizm darwinowski!
Doskonala pozycja, lektura obowiazkowa na WDZ, żałuje, ze nie wpadla mi w rece 20 lat temu.
Obala idiotyczne mity, przedstawia fakty w przystepny i ciekawy sposób, naładowana solidną bibliografia w oparciu o badania. Pomaga swiadomie podjac decyzje zwiazane z gospodarka hormonalna, o ktorych nikt nie mowi.
Doskonala pozycja, lektura obowiazkowa na WDZ, żałuje, ze nie wpadla mi w rece 20 lat temu.
Obala idiotyczne mity, przedstawia fakty w przystepny i ciekawy sposób, naładowana solidną bibliografia w oparciu o badania. Pomaga swiadomie podjac decyzje zwiazane z gospodarka hormonalna, o ktorych nikt nie mowi.
May 7, 2023
Wat een geweldig boek. Ik wilde graag meer weten over de menstruatie cyclus en hoe dat mij kan beïnvloeden elke maand, en dat is gelukt met dit boek! Ik wil alleen maar meer leren, het verbaasde me hoe weinig ik wist. Geweldig boek om mee te beginnen (af en toe wel iets te Amerikaans voor mij)!
January 11, 2024
Not sure how I feel about females being compared to animals throughout the book. Some interesting insights were surely mentioned, however also quite repetitive.
October 12, 2022
Правильнее было бы назвать эту книгу «Игры половых гормонов». Познавательно, но сильно затянуто.
September 15, 2025
wedlug mnie autorka zbyt wąsko ujmuje temat oraz mówi o zbyt małej ilości badań; miałam odczucie jakby za bardzo generalizowala to co się dzieje u nas w mózgu
tak jak ujął ktoś w recenzji ta książka popularnonaukowa jest bardziej popularna niż naukowa
tak jak ujął ktoś w recenzji ta książka popularnonaukowa jest bardziej popularna niż naukowa
July 2, 2020
I'm looking for a long time for a good book on hormones and this one is good, informative, balanced.
April 27, 2020
Interesting, important and potentially empowering topic. Unfortunately, the excessive repetition and conjecture irritated me a fair bit.
October 17, 2018
Humans, like other animals, are biological creatures and our behavior in any given situation is determined by our biology in combination with the situational factors. This is a fundamental fact, yet even today many seem to think that biology doesn't matter – that we are products exclusively of nurture. Some even get offended by the suggestion that hormones affect not only muscle mass and reproductive cycles but also our behavior. This book is an antidote to such nonsense!
Martie Haselton, a professor at UCLA working in the field she has dubbed evolutionary feminism, argues that hormones tune our behavior in adaptive ways. These “hormonal nudges” can cause a woman to find certain traits in a partner more or less attractive, or they can cause changes in mood. As professor Haselton carefully points out, this does not mean – as some news outlets seem to think – that people think with their genitals.
Men do feature in this book, and men do have hormonal cycles. For example, men have a higher concentration of testosterone in the morning. (This explains why certain why men can sometimes be more ‘edgy’ in the morning.). Nevertheless, focus in this book is on women and how the rather brutal hormonal cycles (or lack thereof) nudges behavior. Another under-researched area that features prominently in this book is menopause which is almost like a second puberty in terms of the biological quakes it involves.
This book is well written, funny, and informative. Professor Haselton is excellent at explaining what her research means for you and me while maintaining scientific rigor. The one thing I missed was an apparent response to the arguments put forth by Cordelia Fine in her book “Delusions of Gender” who convincingly argues that hormones play a minor role (although she never says that the effects are non-existent).
If you are the least bit interested in how hormones affect behavior, or if you are just interested in women then this book is an excellent choice.
Martie Haselton, a professor at UCLA working in the field she has dubbed evolutionary feminism, argues that hormones tune our behavior in adaptive ways. These “hormonal nudges” can cause a woman to find certain traits in a partner more or less attractive, or they can cause changes in mood. As professor Haselton carefully points out, this does not mean – as some news outlets seem to think – that people think with their genitals.
Men do feature in this book, and men do have hormonal cycles. For example, men have a higher concentration of testosterone in the morning. (This explains why certain why men can sometimes be more ‘edgy’ in the morning.). Nevertheless, focus in this book is on women and how the rather brutal hormonal cycles (or lack thereof) nudges behavior. Another under-researched area that features prominently in this book is menopause which is almost like a second puberty in terms of the biological quakes it involves.
This book is well written, funny, and informative. Professor Haselton is excellent at explaining what her research means for you and me while maintaining scientific rigor. The one thing I missed was an apparent response to the arguments put forth by Cordelia Fine in her book “Delusions of Gender” who convincingly argues that hormones play a minor role (although she never says that the effects are non-existent).
If you are the least bit interested in how hormones affect behavior, or if you are just interested in women then this book is an excellent choice.
May 10, 2021
Something I’m rather self-conscious of is my lack of knowledge of my own body. I’m sure it’s an insecurity held by many women, who scroll the NHS website on Incognito mode and get their information and reassurance from Cosmo. As someone who was lucky to make it out of GCSE Biology with my sanity, nevermind a pass, I haven’t been eager to pick up anything too “sciencey” to alleviate this concern. I actually spotted this book on Hannah Witton’s shelf on her latest bookshelf tour and, having watched and trusted her for years, decided to pick it up.
Dare I say it, this wasn’t “sciencey” enough for me. Maybe I spend too much time on aforementioned NHS websites and reading Cosmo articles, but lots of the findings in this book fell flat for me. I couldn’t help but want more of the findings rather than the writer’s own thoughts and agenda. I was genuinely looking for a book which was a deep dive into the science of hormones, rather than a discussion of (mostly) heterosexual attraction and reproduction.
If I’m not mistaken, trans people and non-cis identities were not mentioned until the final four pages of the book. For a book all about hormones and their impact on lives, I was surprised that this simply didn’t come up earlier.
The final chapter was the most interesting to me. Perhaps this is simply because reproduction (and “baby-making” as the author insists on calling it, causing me inexplicable cringe) isn’t particularly relevant to me as a 22 year old just starting her career and at least several years off affording a property. Dispelling myths and misconceptions around contraception is massively important and interesting and I’m not entirely sure why the author didn’t lead with that.
Overall I gave this book 2 stars. I think it’s a good start for those just beginning to research bodies and hormones. But the problem is that the type of person to pick this book up already HAS this knowledge. Therefore, I’m not entirely sure of the audience, or the point.
Dare I say it, this wasn’t “sciencey” enough for me. Maybe I spend too much time on aforementioned NHS websites and reading Cosmo articles, but lots of the findings in this book fell flat for me. I couldn’t help but want more of the findings rather than the writer’s own thoughts and agenda. I was genuinely looking for a book which was a deep dive into the science of hormones, rather than a discussion of (mostly) heterosexual attraction and reproduction.
If I’m not mistaken, trans people and non-cis identities were not mentioned until the final four pages of the book. For a book all about hormones and their impact on lives, I was surprised that this simply didn’t come up earlier.
The final chapter was the most interesting to me. Perhaps this is simply because reproduction (and “baby-making” as the author insists on calling it, causing me inexplicable cringe) isn’t particularly relevant to me as a 22 year old just starting her career and at least several years off affording a property. Dispelling myths and misconceptions around contraception is massively important and interesting and I’m not entirely sure why the author didn’t lead with that.
Overall I gave this book 2 stars. I think it’s a good start for those just beginning to research bodies and hormones. But the problem is that the type of person to pick this book up already HAS this knowledge. Therefore, I’m not entirely sure of the audience, or the point.
May 26, 2018
Wow, such an interesting book.
Martie Haselton managed to convey a lot of scientific information in a way that was easy to read and kept my attention (not an easy task)! What stood out to me the most in this book was the amazing power that hormones have in our bodies and how the chemicals that are always at work impact every aspect of life. My view of the world is different from the author's, as I believe that God created the world and everything in it (including humans), not that we evolved to be what we are now. So, instead of seeing the beautiful intricacies of how a female body works as evolutionary success for our species, I see it as the beautiful design of God.
I DO agree with the author that knowing the science behind our hormones and the way our bodies work is important for women. If for only the reason that it allows us to make choices and do the right things instead of just blindly following our feelings. Ultimately, hormones are powerful and enable women to do amazing things. They are not a weakness.
Martie Haselton managed to convey a lot of scientific information in a way that was easy to read and kept my attention (not an easy task)! What stood out to me the most in this book was the amazing power that hormones have in our bodies and how the chemicals that are always at work impact every aspect of life. My view of the world is different from the author's, as I believe that God created the world and everything in it (including humans), not that we evolved to be what we are now. So, instead of seeing the beautiful intricacies of how a female body works as evolutionary success for our species, I see it as the beautiful design of God.
I DO agree with the author that knowing the science behind our hormones and the way our bodies work is important for women. If for only the reason that it allows us to make choices and do the right things instead of just blindly following our feelings. Ultimately, hormones are powerful and enable women to do amazing things. They are not a weakness.
July 5, 2019
I found it lacking compared to Moody Bitches. It makes a couple of points clear and it does shine some light on the logic behind PMDD, but it’s very repetitive and it feels shallow coming from a scientist. Also, some of the claims she makes...do not resonate at all with my personal experience (not that they should, but Moody Bitches made a lot of sense and this book doesn’t). She also goes against some different perspectives on women’s menstrual cycles, mainly ancestral knowledge and I found that perturbing. It felt like she never wanted to find but what she wanted to find in her studies instead of having a more encompassing and culturally rich and diverse point of view.
June 6, 2018
The chapter about birth control was helpful. I had no idea there were 2 kinds. The graph that had women on estrogen-progestin birth control vs without was jaw dropping. I didn't know women had a high-fertility window or a cycle was normally 28 days. This book convinced me to read another book on this topic because apparently I don't know sh**
February 24, 2020
"Hormonal intelligence" and human female "estrus" two terms I meant from this eye opening read. It explains a lot from the male perspective. Helps man understand female behaviour. Could have given it 5 stars but I felt the writer was holding back in fear of a feminist backlash. A courageous project non the less. Greatly enjoyed it.
March 21, 2018
control-f "trans" not found
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