In her new book, Erna Walraven draws on decades of experience with animals to challenge the myths that have long caged women. Elizabeth Spiegel shares her thoughts on ‘Hear Me Roar’.
WHEN AUTHOR Erna Walraven became one of the first female zookeepers in Australia, her male co-workers at Taronga told her the job was too hard and dangerous for a woman — and proceeded to bully her by making the job harder and more dangerous than it needed to be.
Hear Me Roar is, first of all, the story of Erna’s career at the zoo, rising from the lone woman working with the animals at Taronga to senior curator of both the Sydney zoo and its sister campus at Dubbo. By the time she “retired” (she continues to work as a consultant, lecturer and author), the old guard who resented her presence was long gone, and the mix of staff was much more balanced.
Fascinating though Erna’s career has been, this book is more than just a memoir. Chapter by chapter, she addresses a series of stereotypes about the behaviour of female animals that have been used to justify limitations on human women. In addition to her own experience at the zoo, Erna draws on the experiences of researchers across the globe working with a wide range of animals.
Animal behaviour can indeed be used to shed light on human behaviour, so it needs to be observed accurately and analysed objectively. Female animals, it turns out, can be leaders; they can nurture offspring, or hand the job to others; they can use sex – both with males and other females – to encourage social bonds; and can build alliances among their peers and relatives.
It turns out that, as Yuval Noah Harari put it: “Biology enables, culture forbids.”
Hear Me Roar by Erna Walraven is published by Simon and Schuster.
This book was reviewed by an IA Book Club member. If you would like to receive free high-quality books and have your review published on IA, subscribe to receive your complimentary IA Book Club membership.
Elizabeth Spiegel is a freelance editor and retired public servant.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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