What is 'Matriarchy'?

Question

I'm not looking for a dictionary definition so no links to elswhere please.

Patriarchy describes a society where men are in charge, so then does Matriarchy describe a society where women are in charge?

If in a matriarchal society men and women have equal status then would we be better off calling them 'partnership society'?

There seems to be a subtle presupposition that men are the badies and women are the goodies; that when men are in charge inequality, war and exploitation prevail but when women are in charge, equality, freedom and cooperation prevail.

I've met some manipulative, controlling women in my time and I've met some very fair, patient and sensitive men. Do you think feminists are just projecting things they don't like in themselves onto men

Answer 1

Matriarchal societies are simply societies which are governed by women, ie. heads of families, governors, lawmakers, etc. I don't think it necessarily implies that matriarchal societies are more equal, compassionate, etc. than patriarchal societies, it's the same difference. It is not, however, a "partnership society".

There are some tribes and cultures in Asia which practice matriarchal systems. Typically, this comes about in groups where the men out-number the women, and somehow this tends to put women in positions of power where sometimes the women practice polygamy to make up for the shortage. Their ability to produce life also makes them revered in some cultures, thereby according women the higher status over men.

Real feminism is about receiving equal rights as men do. In essence, it is about overcoming prejudice. I do not believe feminism is more or less than the gay-rights, the ethnic-minorities and racial-equality movements. Certainly, at it's core, feminism is not about b*tching about men and pointing out their deficiencies, although it is undeniable that some women who call themselves feminists do take it to extremes.

It is unfair to say that feminists are manipulative and controlling, as manipulative and controlling people come in all forms, ages, genders and ethnicity. Equally, there are many fair, patient and sensitive women as there are fair, patient and sensitive men.

The key to achieving equality and overcoming prejudice is to understand that people, regardless of race, gender, background and religion, are all human beings, and therefore deserve equal measures of rights and freedom, free of prejudice and hatred, from each other.

Your suggestion of a "partnership society" sounds great. An "equal society" sounds better.

Answer 2

I'll answer your questions in order, as placed in your post.

Matriarchy/Patriarchy is more than just who is in charge, if "in charge" means "making rules". It defines who controls property, whose name is dominant, and who enforces the rules. If you are in the United States, you most likely carry your father's last name as your own. When a woman marries, she most often takes her husband's name for her own. In a Matriarchal society, the children are given their mother's surname. The women own the property, the women make the rules, the women choose the leaders. If you want a local example, look at the Chahta People, renamed by the European settlers as Choctaw. The Chahta were a matriarchal society. All property was owned by women, the women chose the men who would represent the tribe to outsiders, the women ruled their individual households, the children carried their mother's name, and female children were the dominant heirs.

In a matriarchal society, the role of men is clearly defined. They are to bring in the resources necessary to maintain the household (i.e., hunt game, farm, bring home a paycheck), help make children, teach the boys to be good and strong men, and respect their wife and daughters. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? The role of women is also clearly defined. Women are to govern their household and the village/society, utilize the resources provided (by her husband and sons) in the best way possible, teach her girls how to be good and strong women, and keep her man and sons healthy and able to work. Is all this sounding familiar?? Sounds kind of like what the 50's were supposed to be, yes? Except that since the men were "in charge", the women ended up being cheated on, abused, and disrespected. Put a little twist on the Cleavers for a moment: If June had owned the house and the car, and the boys had her last name, which had been her mother's before her, how different would the dynamic have been?

About this presupposition, the baddies and goodies, and what will prevail. Yes, there are shrill, horrible women, yes, there are wise, gentle men. There are always bad people in with the good people. But look at this.........in the worst neighborhoods of all, who are the boys/young men who DON'T join the gangs? The ones with big, strong mamis who simply will not allow them to join gangs. Even if there is no father in the household, if the mami is strong, and respected, the boys won't join the gangs. If there is a father who is a good provider, these kids have an even better chance of avoiding the gangs. Conversely, if the mami is weak-willed, if the father is a lazy bastard.........these kids only have a chance if they're intrinsically stronger than their surroundings, and that just doesn't happen often enough.

As for the feminists. "Feminism" simply put, is equal pay for equal work, and equitable punishment for crimes. Too many radical people use feminism as a guise for trying to change the society in negative ways. Our society will not benefit from men being turned into weak sisters, nor from women being the hunter-gatherers. The men need to be strong, willing to provide for the women, the women need to be able to rule peacefully and gently.

I fear that these things will not happen as long as organized religion is in charge of everything. We need to return to the bosom of the earth, learn her magic, and respect the sun's strength.

Answer 3

It doesn't matter one hoot how one individual incorrectly defines sociological terms, lol! Take a look - Women's Studies is found under the umbrella category of the social sciences. Whether you personally like it or NOT is totally irrelevant: there is a standardised terminology used by social scientists. Use it. This is so everyone can be 'on the same page', all the time. Can you imagine no standard terminology in medicine? The patient is wheeled into surgery, and the team talk about removing the 'thingmy bob' in the 'what'sit'??

A standard terminology is essential. According to the online dictionary of the social sciences:

MATRIARCHY
A society or family in which women possess most of the power and authority. While there is some dispute among social scientists, there is no clear evidence of matriarchal societies existing in the world in either the past or the present. Individual families, however, have frequently exhibited matriarchal structure with women clearly possessing dominant authority and control. The term must be distinguished from matrilineal which refers to the system of tracing descent through the blood lines of women and which exists in a number of world societies. See: MATRILINEAL SOCIETIES / .

MATRILINEAL SOCIETIES
Societies in which descent is traced through mothers rather than through fathers. In such societies property is often passed from mothers to daughters and the custom of matrilocal residence may be practiced. In such systems, the descendants of men are their sister's children and not their own, who belong to their mother's matrilineage. Matrilineage is sometimes associated with polyandry or group marriage where women have a variety of sexual partners and lines of male descent are uncertain. See: PATRILINEAL DESCENT / BILINEAL DESCENT / .
http://bitbucket.icaap.org/dict.pl?alpha=M

The most comprehensive scholarly, peer-reviewed source available online is the Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy at: http://plato.stanford.edu/

Answer 4

Well, mine is a matriarchal society. The children take their mother's clan, not their father's. The woman owns the home, and to divorce her husband, all she needs to do is leave his things outside the house. He gets the hint and goes back to his mother's people.
In the old Cherokee society, equality DID prevail, as did cooperation and freedom. Nobody went without what they needed because of a concept we have called "gadugi." There isn't a corresponding word for it in any European language, but the closest I can come to translating it is "working together for a common good." I think if Euroamerican society was like ours, the US would most assuredly be a better place.

Answer 5

What in the 'ell is "Mother in the Lab" talking about? She is confusing ancient Greek mythology with an actual river on the globe (that the ancient Greeks never knew existed). There is no actual proof that Amazonian women ever existed. When the Europeans conquered South America, they mistook long haired native male warriors for "women" [hence the name for the region]. There has never been any matriarchal society in history, so far as we know. Even in countries that had a strong female leader, such as Elizabethan England, were male led at every other level besides the top (men were still considered the head of the household & did the bulk of the work, and women still stayed home and took care of the children & household). This was still true in Egyptian societies that occasionally were rulled by a female Pharoah. There has never been a society where men were considered to be subservient to women. --------------------------------------... ...This area around the Amazon was dominated by the Icamiaba natives, who were mistaken for fierce female warriors by the members of the expedition. Orellana later narrated the belligerent victory of the Icamiaba “women” over the Spanish invaders to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who, recalling the Amazons of Greek mythology, baptized the river Amazonas, the name by which it is still known in both Spanish and Portuguese...

Answer 6

What exactly is your question? A matriarchal society is one in which women have the authority, make decisions for the community, and so on. As for the rest of what you're saying, you're drawing conclusions that are not there. Read a book.

Answer 7

the only women that speak up and voice their opinions have the same goals in mind that most men do. They are used to being in control. Be it their friends...family...kids..etc. The difference is..when I call 'em outside for a fight...they will probably kick my a s s.

Answer 8

I suggest you read The Garbage Generation by Daniel Amneus. He talks a lot about matriarchy and it's inadequacies. In truth the rise of matriarchy may be the cause of the concurrent rise of widespread delinquency in our society. Here is his description of it from the online book:

In the Matriarchal System the reproductive unit consists of the mother and her offspring, the father playing a marginal role, wandering into and out of the "family," subject to dismissal at the mother's bidding. The central fact about this kind of family is its naturalness. Roman jurists spoke of maternity as a natural fact, "natura verum," and of paternity as merely a matter of civil law. "In all but a few species," writes Sarah Hardy, "females are permanent residents in social groups, males mere transients." This is the reproductive arrangement of all lower mammals. It has been the reproductive arrangement of the human race itself until recently. Its biological backup is awesome--what Margaret Mead meant by saying the female role is a "biological fact."

It is the reproductive pattern which re-emerges in times of social catastrophe. When men are killed on battlefields or cast into prisons, female-headed families carry on. When there is divorce, the mother takes custody of the children. When ghetto males sit on curbsides and get stoned, ghetto females and children stay home and watch T.V. The matriarchal family may result from catastrophe, but it may also result from doing nothing, from biological and social drifting. It is always on standby, always waiting to resurface and re-establish itself. It is what society lapses into when the upkeep and maintenance of the patriarchal system is neglected. It is the pattern which is re-emerging at the present time under the aegis of the feminist/sexual revolution.

Answer 9

Partnership society sounds good to me. You have my vote.

Answer 10

A society rule by ignorant feminist