How evolutionary psychology’s gendered narratives obscure social construction and cultural power imbalances
Original framing: “How has evolution shaped men’s and women’s minds? A new book tells an outdated story” — The Conversation - Global
Marginalized voices, particularly those of women of color, queer scholars, and global South researchers, are entirely absent from the framing. For example, feminist scholars like Nancy Tuana (*Techno-Science and Feminist Theory*) or Cherríe Moraga (*Loving in the War Years*) have critiqued how evolutionary psychology reinforces colonial and heteronormative frameworks. Similarly, Indigenous feminist scholars like Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (*As We Have Always Done*) argue that Western science’s separation of biology and culture is a colonial imposition that disrupts Indigenous ways of knowing. The framing’s exclusion of these voices perpetuates a monocultural understanding of gender that prioritizes the experiences and theories of white, Western men.
The original framing perpetuates a colonial and patriarchal narrative by presenting evolutionary psychology’s claims about gender as objective truths, while systematically erasing Indigenous, feminist, and cross-cultural perspectives that challenge these assumptions.
This narrative is not merely a scientific debate but a site of power struggles, where Western institutions and media outlets amplify voices that reinforce existing hierarchies while marginalizing those that offer alternative ways of understanding human diversity. Historical precedents, such as the eugenics movement, demonstrate how pseudo-scientific theories have repeatedly been weaponized to justify oppression, and the persistence of evolutionary psychology’s gendered narratives today reveals its role in maintaining systemic inequalities. To move forward, knowledge production must be decolonized, interdisciplinary, and inclusive of marginalized voices, ensuring that science serves equity rather than power. The trickster lens further exposes how these narratives function as disciplinary tools, using the guise of objectivity to police gender norms, while a future modeled on relational and ecological frameworks could offer a path toward justice and harmony.