Table of contents
Announcement

After ten years of exploring humanity in all its diversity, SAPIENS has concluded its publishing chapter.

While the magazine has closed, its living archive endures—open to all and preserving the many ideas, voices, and discoveries that deepen our understanding of what it means to be human.

Coming of Age … Today

Does the transition from childhood to adulthood have to be so difficult? This question sent famed anthropologist Margaret Mead to…

The Problems With Coming of Age

A famed anthropologist’s controversial research in American Samoa reveals the biggest questions about growing up and being human. This special…

Why I Ask My Students to Swear in Class

An anthropologist uses explicit insults to get students thinking about gender and power in everyday language. Plus, a brief explainer…

Dating Apps Can Gauge Attraction but Not Chemistry

Why do attraction and chemistry feel different in the digital age? The answer lies in how digitally mediated information is…

Two Myths Fueling the Conservative Right’s Dangerous Transphobia

An anthropologist attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)—ground zero for the current onslaught of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation in…

Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange.

In a new book, Growing Up Human, a bioarchaeologist chronicles some of the most surprising evolutionary adaptations of babies, parents,…

What Is Freedom in a Brazilian Favela?

In a new book, Minoritarian Liberalism, an anthropologist explores how favela residents of Rio de Janeiro create their own versions…

What’s Behind the Backlash to Lightyear’s Animated Kiss?

What do Twitter debates over Disney-Pixar’s recent family film tell us about today’s parenting politics in the U.S.? ✽ On…

An Archaeology of Personhood and Abortion

Opinions about fetal personhood and abortion have fluctuated enormously throughout history and differ in surprising ways between cultures. ✽ After…

Biological Science Rejects the Sex Binary, and That’s Good for Humanity

Evidence from various sciences reveals that there are diverse ways of being male, female, or both. An anthropologist argues that embracing these truths will help humans flourish.