While the book was radical for its time by advocating for equal pay, it also angered some feminists by arguing that women should stay home to raise children. Archived Materials
An early version was published in the Saturday Evening Post , creating significant attention. Another piece, “The Natural Superiority of Women,” appeared in the Ladies' Home Journal in July 1952. The Natural Superiority of Women
Writing in the 1950s, Montagu’s arguments were used to support traditional gender roles in a Cold War context, arguing that women's role as the anchor of the family was a defense against societal breakdown. While the book was radical for its time
He often presented a humorous or provocative argument that men are a form of "incomplete" woman, emphasizing women’s superior health and longer life expectancy. Writing in the 1950s, Montagu’s arguments were used
The work emphasizes that women possess a natural, inborn capacity for love, cooperation, and nurture. Conversely, he argued that men’s reliance on "muscular power" led to harmful behaviors in modern society, such as "psychopaths, drug abusers, and barroom brawlers".
He argued that women's genetic makeup allowed them to survive better during the evolution from hunter-gatherer to technological society.
The book was part of a broader effort by Montagu (who helped draft a 1949 UN statement on race) to argue against biological determinism regarding race, while curiously turning that same focus toward "natural" sex roles in this specific work. Draft and Publication Context