{"title":"Richard O. Prum","description":"\u003cp\u003eRichard O. Prum's works explore the intricate relationships between biology, evolution, and behaviour, blending scientific insight with engaging narrative. His writing offers readers a deep understanding of the natural world through innovative perspectives on performance and adaptation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for those interested in education and reference, Prum's books challenge conventional wisdom and invite reflection on the complexity of life, making them valuable resources for both students and curious minds alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"performance-all-the-way-down-by-richard-o-prum-9780226829784","title":"Performance All the Way Down","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn award-winning biologist and writer applies queer feminist theory to developmental genetics, arguing that individuals are not essentially male or female.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea that gender is a performance—a tenet of queer feminist theory since the nineties—has spread from college classrooms to popular culture. This transformative concept has sparked reappraisals of social expectations as well as debate over not just gender, but sex: what it is, what it means, and how we know it. Most scientific and biomedical research over the past seventy years has assumed and reinforced a binary concept of biological sex, though some scientists point out that \u003cem\u003emale\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003efemale\u003c\/em\u003e are just two outcomes in a world rich in sexual diversity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003ePerformance All the Way Down\u003c\/em\u003e, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist Richard O. Prum brings feminist thought into conversation with biology, arguing that the sexual binary is not essential to human genes, chromosomes, or embryos. Our genomes are not blueprints, algorithms, or recipes for the physical representation of our individual sexual essences or fates. In accessible language, Prum shows that when we look closely at the science, we see that gene expression is a material action in the world, a performance through which the individual regulates and achieves its own becoming. A fertilised zygote matures into an organism with tissues and organs, neurological control, immune defences, psychological mechanisms, and gender and sexual behaviour through a performative continuum. This complex hierarchy of self-enactment reflects the evolved agency of individual genes, molecules, cells, and tissues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRejecting the notion of an intractable divide between the humanities and the sciences, Prum proves that the contributions of queer and feminist theorists can help scientists understand the human body in new ways, yielding key insights into genetics, developmental biology, and physiology. Sure to inspire discussion, \u003cem\u003ePerformance All the Way Down\u003c\/em\u003e is a book about biology for feminists, a book about feminist theory for biologists, and a book for anyone curious about how our sexual bodies grow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47426979332332,"sku":"9780226829784","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780226829784.jpg?v=1774767730"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/richard-o-prum.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}