#82 The Truth About Women, Lust, and Adultery with Wednesday Martin, PhD

Wednesday Martin's newest work of non-fiction, UNTRUE: Why Nearly Everything We Believe About Women, Lust, and Adultery is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free cuts through the junk science and regressive cultural narratives that have shaped our beliefs about female infidelity for centuries, revealing a truth both liberating and disconcerting: women are no more “naturally monogamous” than men; nor are their libidos shrinking violets. Far from it.

Offering insights from thirty experts as well as real women from all walks of life who refuse monogamy, UNTRUE also analyzes cultural shifts from plow agriculture to polyamory; introduces readers to two important "hidden figures" of American sex research; and takes readers on an immersive, fascinating journey—from the bonobo enclosure at the San Diego Zoo to an exclusive all-female sex party in Manhattan where most of the revelers identify as heterosexual. UNTRUE asserts that monogamy is a tighter fit for the fairer sex; that females of many species evolved to be “promiscuous”; and that female sexual autonomy may be the most meaningful metric of gender equality. Rich with game-changing data and polemical writing, it promises to take us far out of our comfort zone, and may change the way you think about women and sex forever.

Wednesday Martin, Ph.D is a writer and feminist cultural critic. She is the author of seven books including instant #1 New York Times bestseller Primates of Park Avenue and UNTRUE: Why Nearly Everything We Believe About Women, Lust, and Adultery is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free. She has written for publications including New York Times, The Atlantic, and the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and more to discuss her work on gender, motherhood, female sexuality, and popular culture. To learn more visit wednesdaymartin.com