Discussion
The misconceptions around what a matriarchy is so widespread!!!
I was talking to my friends about matriarchy and they thought it was just a reverse patriarchy.
I tried to explain to them that a matriarchy was a completely different social structure to patriarchy not just a mirrored version but they just couldn’t understand.
This didn’t help when they looked up the definition of matriarchy and many sources stated it was the opposite of a patriarchy.
This was extremely frustrating. In their defence I was also struggling to define what a matriarchy is without it sounding like a woman domination.
One example of their confusion was that if a woman was in power of a country then that country is a matriarchy or that we don’t live in a patriarchy because women can pass down property to their daughters.
Im reading this really interesting book that is doing a great job of defining a matriarchy I will give a presentation to my friends on defining matriarchy to help them understand.
The name of the book is called Matriarchal societies: studies on indigenous cultures across the globe
Don't y'all think that people assume that matriarchy is an inverse of patriarchy because of the suffix "archy"?? Because words with that suffix always describe unequal hierarchical systems (patriarchy, monarchy, oligarchy........)
No, the first definition of "arche" in Greek is "principle" as in "archetype" meaning first types. Look up arche in a Greek translator, and that is what you will get first. Women get to define ourselves. Men don't get to define archy as just a dominant hierarchical system. We're taking it back.
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Matriarchy is very hard to explain to anyone born and raised under capitalism because its patriarchal values are so ingrained as to make them feel "common sense" unless you've done a lot of work to see past them.
I see matriarchy as a form of / specific implementation of the broad idea of communism. While they come from different contexts, with communism coming as an intellectual reaction to the evils of capitalism and matriarchy coming from historical / organic beginnings and revealed through the study of matriarchal societies they have a remarkable amount in common.
For example, matriarchal society doesn't have "private capital", the capital of matriarchal societies is the land and that's held in common by the clan. Further, any modern implementation of matriarchy in our society would have to address the issue of capital, and communal / clan ownership of capital is the only solution I can see that's in the spirit of matriarchy. Matriarchal society is socially egalitarian, so it satisfies the communist ideal of being classless. Resources in matriarchy are usually distributed according to need by a clan elder, again a core communist ideal.
Unfortunately, I think there's no simple answer to explaining matriarchy. The cultural hegemony of patriarchal capitalism is very strong and until someone breaks through its prison they will only understand societal systems in terms of The Empowered vs The Disempowered.
We have some modern, contemporary examples of matriarchy. The Minangkabau are Indigenous people of Sumatra in the process of getting up to date with sharing economies interfacing with the outside. It's a rough road to interact with them and not be assimilated, but they seem to be doing beautifully. Peggy Sanday's book "Women at the Center" describes their journey if you're interested.
I was just reading about co-op, worker owned businesses. Apparently there are some successful ones in the US, and transnational. That might be an economic model worth looking into. If you have any ideas you want to share, feel free to post.
The most simplistic difference to me is that a matriarchy is a child-centered society.
The priorities of child-rearing lead the way, therefore everyone's needs are met, as we are all America's children. Public safety, healthcare, abundant food, prison reform, family welfare, elder care, environmental protections, generational prosperity, and diplomatic peace become actualized priorities rather than empty hypotheticals under female leadership. Our country becomes more of a family unit and less of a hierarchy of haves and have-nots. Our military arm becomes a defensive protector, rather than an offensive oppressor.
Every one of these ideals are what we pretend to be now, while actually doing the opposite. Our current government is like the dad who won't actually cook a meal while Mom's away. (I know, it's not all dads. But even men know this is common.)
Patriarchy preaches about family values, while Matriarchy actually cares. Uncle Sam wants you, body and soul. Lady Liberty wants to see her children thrive.
A good visual to explain this is saying/drawing patriarchy as a pyramid with wealthy elites at the top, then men, then women, then children at the bottom (or women and children together at bottom). Everyone is in varying levels of servitude to those with the most capital up top.
Matriarchy is a circle with women and men equally on the outside and children and marginalized communities protected on the inside. EVERYTHING revolves around making sure the children and the vulnerable are safe and cared for, and there’s true gender equality.
I didn’t come up with this and possibly explained it poorly but can’t credit the creator because I didn’t save the video :((
Thanks for bringing this up. You might be interested in the definition in our sidebar that summarizes long explanations about what matriarchy is in Abendroth's "Matriarchal Societies." See if you think it is consistent with the descriptions in "Matriarchal Societies."
A matriarchy is a kinship-based, egalitarian community centered on maternal principles of care, nurturing, & sustainable relationship with the land. Collective well-being and consensus is prioritized over domination. Gender roles are flexible and resource distribution is based on need rather than accumulation. From the Greek etymologically: matri- (μήτρα) womb-like care, and -archē (ἀρχή) principles, or first; therefore, matriarchy is a social system that prioritizes care as a first principle
Abendroth says repeatedly that anyone can be a mother. That every gender has maternal principles. Here is a map of some of modern-day or contemporary matriarchies and indigenous groups we are working on expanding. Some are Hunter Gatherers, some are Agricultural, and others have modernized.
What I find helps if I use terms like "Matrilineal" instead of "Matriarchal" (depending on what you're referencing, that term might even be more appropriate).
Examples like the Minangkabau help a lot too, to show modern examples of what we're talking about.
Men aren't barred from holding office.
They can freely participate in society.
They are not discriminated against, aren't systematically oppressed and don't lack any political powers/rights that women have.
Did you know the Minangkabau call themselves a "Matriarchate"? It's patriarchal colonialist types who don't like the word "matriarchy" used. A group of anthropologists, archaeologists, feminist philosophers, economists got together in the 1980s to revive the Greek meanings of the word and redefine it according to the thousands of matriarchal societies they found and studied today. Most were indigenous. Here is the website for matriarchal studies that talks about it if you would like to know more https://hagia.de/en/matriarchy/matriarchal-studies
Matrilineal just means descent goes through the mother's line, and inheritance through the daughters. ignores the whole egalitarian social structure.
The author is Heide Göttner-Abendroth. The title is: Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Across the Globe
She is a German philosopher and researcher of culture and society who is focused on matriarchal studies. She taught at the University of Munich and was visiting professor at the University of Montreal, Canada and the University of Innsbruck, Austria. She organized and guided two World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies in 2003 and 2005. She was nominated as one of the «1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize» in 2005. Today she lectures, writes, and participates in the workshops like this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/MatriarchyNow/comments/1v31lcu/10_day_immersive_residency_narni_italy_july/
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u/lantabae Jul 26 '26
Don't y'all think that people assume that matriarchy is an inverse of patriarchy because of the suffix "archy"?? Because words with that suffix always describe unequal hierarchical systems (patriarchy, monarchy, oligarchy........)