The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us about the Power of the Female Body

by Starre Vartan

Overview

A myth-busting vindication of women’s physical strengths that's "fun, rooted in science, and a strong pitch for a stronger sex" (Cat Bohannon)

For decades, Starre Vartan—like most women—was told that having a woman’s body meant being weaker than men. Like many women, she mostly believed it.  

Not anymore.  

Following a half decade of research into the newest science, Vartan shows in The Stronger Sex that women’s bodies are incredibly powerful, flexible, and resilient in ways men’s bodies aren’t. Tossing aside the narrow notion of a fully ripped man as the measure of strength, Vartan reveals the ways that women surpass men in endurance, flexibility, immunity, pain tolerance, and the ultimate test of any human body: longevity. Vartan—a deadeye shot since her grandmother showed her how to aim a .22—debunks myth after myth like so many tin cans at two hundred yards and reveals why, if anyone wins in a battle of the sexes, it’s women. 

In interviews with dozens of researchers from biology, anthropology, physiology, and sports science, plus in-depth conversations with runners, swimmers, wrestlers, woodchoppers, thru-hikers, firefighters, and more, The Stronger Sex squashes outdated ideas about women’s bodies. It’s a celebration of female strength that doesn’t argue “down with men” but “up with us all.”  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541604421
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	07/15/2025
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Starre Vartan is a science writer who was raised in a family of creatives and medical professionals. She grew up in New York and now splits her time between the Pacific Northwest and Sydney, Australia. She contributes regularly to Scientific American and National Geographic and has written for CNN, the Washington Post, Slate, and New York magazine, among many others.  

Editorial Reviews

The book takes an in-depth look at women’s numerous and varied strengths, shattering the stubborn myth that men are inherently stronger. In the process, it reveals how these stereotypes around physicality have far-reaching consequences, including disempowering women in multiple ways.” —Summer Issue—Ms. Magazine

“This well-researched look at athletic performance in the human body deflates many common misperceptions about the role of gender in sports. Highly recommended for teens and adults."—Library Journal

“An expansive review of research and cultural history, showcasing how women are strong—yet misunderstood.” —Kirkus

“Vartan skillfully debunks outdated beliefs… This brings valuable perspective to a much-debated topic.” —Publishers Weekly

“Fun, rooted in science, and a strong pitch for a Stronger Sex—three cheers for Starre Vartan reminding us all that female bodies are built to endure.  May this book give all women strength for the times we now live in.”—Cat Bohannon, author of Eve

"The secret is out: from the prehistoric world onwards, women are the stronger sex. This book speaks to all of us who've been told that female bodies make us in some way the 'weaker sex'. In interviews with scientists, fire fighters, wrestlers and surfers, Vartan shows us that it's not our bodies which are the problem: it's culture. It's our expectations of the sexes and those sex and gender binaries which go on restricting how real female bodies develop. From the egg onwards, women's bodies are more active, strong and enduring than you've been told. I guarantee you'll learn something about your body from this book which will astound you. The potential benefits for the health of all human beings are there: if we dare to take them."—Helen King, author of Immaculate Forms

From the Publisher

2025-05-02
The science of what makes men and women different.

Women have long been considered the weaker sex, but their bodies outperform men’s in myriad ways, including in immunity, flexibility, and longevity, argues science writer Vartan. Growing up with her grandmother, who taught her to shoot and whose favorite target was squirrels eating her birdseed, Vartan learned early that women’s strengths are many. Female bodies are “extremely understudied and poorly understood,” she writes. But what research there is sheds light on the role of practice and training in developing athletes and how cultural norms influence how societies have viewed women over time. Among hunter-gatherers, men were superior in power (e.g., spear throwing) and short-distance speed, while women excelled in endurance and shooting accuracy. In modern times, men’s superior strength in throwing, for example, can come down to the amount of practice boys and men get in their young lives, not inherent skill, power, or testosterone. The book considers the impact of widely held beliefs, such as men being better at spatial tasks. Vartan finds research that “simply telling a group of women that they could best the men…improved their scores.” Vartan also asserts that “demeaning language” about menstruation and women’s reproductive organs is linked to a “lack of interest in studying women’s bodies more broadly.” Far from a constant comparison between male and female, the author delves into issues facing women, like endometrial pain, periods, and childbirth. Citing a broad mix of cultural and scientific examinations, by book’s end, Vartan calls for a more nuanced understanding of female power and concludes that a future beckons in which men and women play sports together, rather than in separately gendered groups, where prowess is based on skill, not sex.

An expansive review of research and cultural history, showcasing how women are strong—yet misunderstood.

Kirkus Reviews