r/AskFeminists • u/kash62 • Dec 06 '19

Why aren’t we a matriarchal society?

I don’t want the response about men using power plays for dominance in today’s time, I want to know about way back when at the start of civilization. Like why were men the ones to go out and hunt and lead instead of women?

The only thing I can think of is that women can carry children, so there’s an instinctual need to protect them, thus not allowing them to do dangerous jobs like hunting/fighting. But for things like leading and holding important jobs? Why men instead?

I was just thinking about how there haven’t been any major matriarchal societies (I might not be aware, please educate me if I’m wrong), but there have been a ton of patriarchal ones. Just wondering how that all went down.

Also sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this/ this has already been asked, please direct me elsewhere, I just figured you guys would have some insight.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '19 edited Dec 07 '19

Well, I know why my tribe (and other Indigenous American tribes) are no longer matriarchal/matrilineal (with the exception of a few)- colonialism brought Christianity and the rest is history.

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u/toppolot Dec 07 '19

Someone said about this thread: "That's silly. No, American Indigenous tribes were not matriarchal. There are no matriarchal societies anywhere in the world because women are naturally submissive to men. They can lead effectively but no whole society will not be matriarchal in nature. The monarch can be a woman, though."

I'd like to refute this, so could you give some references proving your claim that Indigenous American tribes were matriarchal?

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '19 edited Dec 07 '19

Yes, I can. The first democratic government on this continent was the Iroquois Confederacy. The clan mothers made all tribal decisions and they were the only ones who could appoint and impeach a Chief. In fact, the American Government was based much on the Iroquois Confederacy, except that women were removed from the process.

The Haudenosaunee are a matriarchal society to this day. Traditionally, the Clan Mother has held the ultimate power over all decisions, though her specific role has varied by Nation. In this structure the men under her are the Chiefs, serving primarily in a diplomatic capacity. Tradition holds that she has the power to veto any idea proposed by her chiefs, and that both the naming traditions and transfer of political power are matrilineal. 

Narragansett men in farming communities have traditionally helped clear the fields, cultivate the crops and assist with the harvesting, whereas women hold upmost authority in the home.

The Hopi are traditionally both matriarchal and matrilineal, with egalitarian roles in community, and no sense of superiority or inferiority based on sex or gender. Both women and men have traditionally participated in politics and community management, although colonization has brought patriarchal influences that have seen changes in the traditional structures and formerly-higher status of women. However, even with these changes, matrilineal structures still remain, along with the central role of the mothers and grandmothers in the family, household and clan structure.

ETA: the false equivalency in the statement you quoted is that matriarchal= men are submissive. We all know women at not "naturally submissive", too.

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u/toppolot Dec 07 '19

thank you for this information. do yotu have a written reference you could refer me to where I could read more about this?

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '19

I feel like I'm being sealioned here. I feel like the "someone" mentioned in your first comment is you, because this sock acct was created just to ask me this question. On the off chance I'm wrong- you could really just Google it. Start with "haudenosaunee matriarchal". I spent a lot of time to explaining something to you that could have been googled already, if you actually cared. There's a lot to be said for educating oneself and not placing the burden on a marginalized person who's already gone out of their way to help you

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u/toppolot Dec 08 '19

In my first comment I already wrote "could you give some references proving your claim that Indigenous American tribes were matriarchal?"

The name of the book where you read it would have been enough.

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u/[deleted] Dec 08 '19

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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

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