What will I learn about: why female monogamy is a product of societal conditioning rather than natural biology, and how women are actually just as likely to cheat as men?

Discover why female monogamy is a product of societal conditioning rather than natural biology, and how women are actually just as likely to cheat as men.

What will I learn about: why women's sex drives drop significantly faster than men's in long-term relationships, debunking the myth that women are naturally wired for strict monogamy?

Understand why women's sex drives drop significantly faster than men's in long-term relationships, debunking the myth that women are naturally wired for strict monogamy.

What will I learn about: Learn how data from platforms like Ashley Madison proves that women who step outside their relationships are typically seeking physical pleasure rather than just an emotional connection?

Learn how data from platforms like Ashley Madison proves that women who step outside their relationships are typically seeking physical pleasure rather than just an emotional connection.

What will I learn about: Explore the fascinating evolutionary clues in human anatomy—from the female cervix filtering sperm to male testicle size—that suggest women were historically designed to seek multiple partners?

Explore the fascinating evolutionary clues in human anatomy—from the female cervix filtering sperm to male testicle size—that suggest women were historically designed to seek multiple partners.

What will I learn about: how psychological studies reveal that women are naturally more sexually fluid and adventurous than men, often seeking diverse forms of physical pleasure?

Find out how psychological studies reveal that women are naturally more sexually fluid and adventurous than men, often seeking diverse forms of physical pleasure.

Untrue

Why Nearly Everything We Believe About Women, Lust, and Infidelity Is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free

Wednesday Martin

★ 4.2 / 5(196 ratings)

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Categories:

Science Sex & Relationships

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that the long-held belief that women are naturally less sexual than men might actually be a complete scientific myth?
💡Have you ever wondered if the female body is actually evolved to seek out sexual variety rather than lifelong monogamy?
💡Are you curious about the hidden evolutionary reasons why women’s desires might be far more complex—and adventurous—than society leads us to believe?

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Key Takeaways from Untrue

✓Discover why female monogamy is a product of societal conditioning rather than natural biology, and how women are actually just as likely to cheat as men.
✓Understand why women's sex drives drop significantly faster than men's in long-term relationships, debunking the myth that women are naturally wired for strict monogamy.
✓Learn how data from platforms like Ashley Madison proves that women who step outside their relationships are typically seeking physical pleasure rather than just an emotional connection.
✓Explore the fascinating evolutionary clues in human anatomy—from the female cervix filtering sperm to male testicle size—that suggest women were historically designed to seek multiple partners.
✓Find out how psychological studies reveal that women are naturally more sexually fluid and adventurous than men, often seeking diverse forms of physical pleasure.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Untrue

Mind Map

Untrue

The Myth of Female Monogamy+

Anatomical Evidence+

Female Sexual Fluidity+

Primate Behavior Clues+

Origins of Monogamy+

Enforcement and Punishment+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7

According to data from the dating website Ashley Madison, what is the primary reason women in long-term relationships seek outside partners?

A. They are looking for a deep emotional connection lacking in their marriage.
B. They are specifically seeking sexual pleasure and new sexual partners.
C. They want to find a new companion to replace their current partner.
D. They are acting out of a desire for revenge against an unfaithful spouse.

Question 2 of 7

What does the author suggest that the relatively large size of human male testicles indicates about human female sexuality?

A. That human females evolved to be strictly monogamous, similar to female gorillas.
B. That human females have naturally low sex drives, requiring more sperm for successful fertilization.
C. That human females were historically promiscuous, requiring male sperm to compete within the vaginal canal.
D. That human females are biologically driven to select mates based primarily on physical size.

Question 3 of 7

What did Dr. Meredith Chivers' research at Queen’s University reveal about women's sexual fluidity?

A. Straight women were primarily aroused by visual depictions of heterosexual couples.
B. Straight women were aroused by a wide variety of sexual couplings, including men with men and women with women.
C. Women's sexual orientation strictly dictated the type of pornography they found arousing.
D. Women generally showed almost no physical arousal to visual pornography compared to men.

Question 4 of 7

How did female rhesus macaque monkeys behave when placed in large enclosures where sex wasn't readily available?

A. They actively roamed around seeking and demanding sex from multiple males.
B. They became highly passive and waited for male monkeys to initiate mating.
C. They formed strict, lifelong monogamous bonds with a single male monkey.
D. They lost interest in sex entirely and focused solely on foraging for food.

Question 5 of 7

According to the text, what major historical shift led to the societal enforcement of female monogamy?

A. The transition from early hunter-gatherer societies to settled agriculture and property ownership.
B. The establishment of formal religious institutions in early Mesopotamian cities.
C. The biological evolution of the female reproductive system over thousands of years.
D. The discovery of new hunting techniques that required men to travel far from their communities.

Question 6 of 7

How did the invention of the plow specifically impact women's societal status?

A. It allowed women to work equally alongside men, temporarily boosting their societal value.
B. It made physical strength essential for food production, relegating women to the home and lowering their value.
C. It gave women control over the agricultural economy, making them the primary landowners.
D. It eliminated the need for communal living, isolating women in nuclear families without support.

Question 7 of 7

Which of the following describes a modern consequence that makes rejecting monogamy riskier for women than for men?

A. Unfaithful women are legally barred from initiating divorce proceedings in most Western countries.
B. Unfaithful women are more likely to be divorced by their partners and face a significantly higher risk of falling into poverty.
C. Unfaithful women are biologically more susceptible to stress-related physical illnesses when keeping secrets.
D. Society generally ignores female infidelity, leading to severe emotional isolation and depression.

Untrue — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Women aren’t naturally more monogamous than men, and they’re just as likely to be unfaithful.
3The design of female and male bodies indicates that women evolved to pursue pleasure with multiple partners.
4Women are more sexually fluid and daring than men, and they’re drawn to varied kinds of pleasure.
5It turns out – and this is the main message here – our closest non-human relatives do not live monogamously.
6The belief that women are naturally monogamous arose with agriculture and a new obsession with property.
7Punishment and norms of respectability uphold monogamy and pressure women to hide their sexuality.

Untrue Summary & Overview

Untrue (2018) aims to challenge the long-held assumption that women are less interested in sex than men. Diving into history and the details of the human body, Untrue reveals that not only do women have strong sexual desires, they’re wired to seek satisfaction from a variety of partners.

Who Should Listen to Untrue?

Women curious about female sexuality
People who want to learn more about sexuality, gender, and society
People with an interest in social anthropology

About the Author: Wednesday Martin

Wednesday Martin is an author and cultural critic with a doctorate in comparative literature and cultural studies from Yale University. She’s written about issues of gender, sexuality, and parenting for publications like the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and the Atlantic. She’s also the author of Stepmonster and Primates of Park Avenue – a New York Times best seller.

Untrue

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Untrue — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Untrue

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Untrue — Full Chapter Overview

Untrue Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Untrue?

About the Author: Wednesday Martin

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