BITCH, I EVOLVED! examines theories of evolution from a feminist perspective.

The question of our origins has presumably occupied humanity since time immemorial. How we investigate, understand, and answer this question is shaped by the social, cultural, and historical conditions under which knowledge is produced. Scientific findings are not independent of the ways of thinking and power structures of their time, but are shaped by them and, in turn, influence them. In this way, they shape our understanding of ourselves, our ideas about bodies, gender, and sexuality, as well as our relationship with other living beings.

Recent research in evolutionary biology, zoology, gender studies, and the history of science reveals how deeply patriarchal power structures have shaped both the scientific investigation of and the narratives surrounding origins, reproduction, sexuality, and bodies – and to what extent the evolution of female and non-binary bodies has been marginalised or distorted in the process. This applies to human bodies just as much as to clownfish, albatrosses, or ducks.

Rather than viewing bodies as autonomous entities competing with one another, current strands of research increasingly describe life as a complex web of mutual dependencies, emphasising the significance of social and cultural influences. How individuals interact, how communities organise themselves, and how roles are distributed are crucial to evolutionary adaptations. More fluid and permeable models, which understand evolutionary developments as intertwined relationships between individuals, species, and their environments, are thus challenging outdated paradigms such as the "survival of the fittest."

What do we really know about our origins and the evolutionary processes that have shaped us? Which ways of thinking, hierarchies, and social constructions of gender influence the scientific perception of our evolutionary origins? Why is the evolution of female bodies absent from so many narratives? How did the first uterus, breasts, and vulvas evolve? Why don't humans lay eggs like more than 99% of animal species – and why do some mammals still do so?