To research Untrue: Why Nearly Everything We Believe about Women, Lust, and Infidelity Is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free, cultural critic Wednesday Martin attended a workshop on consensual non-monogamy, an annual meeting of SSTAR (Society for Sex Therapy and Research) and a Skirt Club gathering (an exclusive women-only sex party). But it was during her visit to see the bonobos of the San Diego Zoo that she came to understand fully something startling: as far as the long-promulgated assumption that men are the more libidinous sex goes, women have been sold a bill of goods.
Bonobos, who share almost 99% of their DNA with Homo sapiens, are regarded as " 'free love' primates" due to unbridled promiscuity among both males and females of the species. The revelation that "our closest relatives are non-monogamous," among other insights gleaned during her anthropological deep-dive, gave Martin newfound appreciation for statistics indicating that women cheat about as often as men do. Martin, author of the memoir Primates of Park Avenue, notes that studies demonstrating that female sex drive is comparable to male sex drive have been controversial because they fight with older conclusions drawn by other, largely male, researchers. As the primatologist and self-described Darwinian feminist Amy Parish explains, "Females showing males aggression is written off as exceptional because of our powerful narrative of what's natural." In the absorbing Untrue, the women among Martin's interview subjects who embrace infidelity would have something to say about what's "natural." --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer