The Natural Superiority Of Women (5th Edition)
By Ashley Montagu
Published by Altamira Press, January 1999
Modern civilization has traveled far in knowledge and advanced technologies, yet from other perspectives — in morals, in education, in equality, in peace — we have a long long way to go. Not long ago, in Kosovo, the world saw how false ideas can generate destructive actions, how an ideology of hatred leads to genocide. More recently we have been shocked to hear that a pro-Nazi sympathizer has secured a foothold in the government of Austria; and a professional baseball player in Atlanta has unashamedly announced, in effect, that minorities are an inferior species.
Always, after news like this, the commentators pop out of their holes like groundhogs, glare at the shadows, then tell us what we already know. Bigotry, intolerance, and racism are evil and horrible and base. Much rarer are the thinkers who write about the root of these events, and explain what we must do to understand the causes and conditions which poison our culture with prejudice and hate.
The most influential of these foresighted thinkers was Ashley Montagu, who died on November 26, 1999 at the age of 94. One of the key forces behind the United Nations UNESCO statement on race, Montagu was the author of more than sixty books. His works and lectures, which explore a wide variety of subjects, focus primarily on these four topics: anthropology; the fallacies of racism and sexism; the nature of human nature as loving and cooperative instead of selfish and aggressive; and the renewal of culture through education. Montagu's last book, The Natural Superiority of Women (originally published in 1952, then four times updated by Dr. Montagu) has been expanded and modernized to fortify his highly-controversial theme: women are superior to men.
The book argues that the female of the species is biologically, sexually, emotionally, and even intellectually superior to the male. Montagu explains that this thesis is supported by scientific evidence. Like Socrates, he challenges his readers to distinguish between facts and opinions. He reminds us that facts are either true of false, and he welcomes all evidence that questions any of his facts and the conclusions deduced from these. Since 1952 when Montagu first made his claims in an article for the Saturday Review, the book has angered many feminists and been applauded by many others.
A woman, Montagu claims, should not attempt to blindly imitate the type-A, money-crazed, commercial-driven lifestyle of the typical executive male. The most fulfilling life for the mother can be realized only if she spends the first years caring for the new baby, and only later joins (or rejoins) the workforce. Montagu's great goal is not to promote a society dominated by women, but a to bring about a world of equality where the beautiful characteristics of women rule: a world of cooperation, sensitivity, and human kindness.
This 1999 Fifth Edition contains significant new material compared to the previous 1992 release, and includes Montagu's new preface, an insightful introduction by Susan Sperling which explains Montagu's ideas in the context of current feminist theory, and the text of the important 1967 United Nations resolution titled "Declaration of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women."
One key, to Montagu's philosophy is his theory about the essence of education. He writes:
"These difficulties are all problems in human relations and until they are solved, human beings will in large numbers continue to behave unintelligently and ineffectually. What, then, is the solution? It lies in a revaluation of our values; in a complete revaluation and reorganization of what today passes for education, but represents nothing more than instruction, a very different thing.Instruction is really just training in techniques and skills, the three Rs. Such training is, of course, indispensably necessary, but it is only a limited part of what should be understood by education. The very word is derived from the Latin educare, meaning to nourish and to cause to grow. And what is it that one should nourish and cause to grow? It has taken us late into the twentieth century to at last discover the answer to that question. It is: the basic behavioral needs of the child, the needs for growth and development as a physically and mentally healthy person, a whole person, one who is able to love, to work, to play, and to think soundly. These are the four great chords of mental health, and that is what education should be about."
Admirers of Montagu's previous books will find many of his important themes repeated here, especially his credo, as H.G. Wells explained, that "civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." For those of us who at times believe that catastrophe is winning, the noble ideas in this work will provide insight, courage and inspiration. The Natural Superiority Of Women will help every thinking man to better appreciate the true essence of women, and help every woman to gain the vision and confidence to fulfill herself, nurture her family, stand up for her rights, and make the world a better — a more equal and a more loving — place to live.
Reviewed by Michael Pastore
http://www.zorbapress.com/epweekly/a_epw/naturals.htm