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6ModernSocietiesWhereWomenLiterallyRule|MentalFloss

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6 Modern Societies Where Women

Literally Rule

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Laura Turner Garrison

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Who runs the world? In these six societies: Girls.

By standard definition, a matriarchy is a family, group or state governed by a matriarch (a
woman who is head of a family or tribe). Anthropologists and feminists have since created
more specific classifications for female societies, including the matrilineal system.
Matrilineality refers not only to tracing ones lineage through maternal ancestry, it can also
refer to a civil system in which one inherits property through the female line. While the
legendary Amazons (probably the most widely known matriarchy) are relegated to mythology,
there are a handful of female-led societies that thrive in the real world today.

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1. MOSUO
Living near the border of Tibet in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, the Mosuo are perhaps
the most famous matrilineal society. The Chinese government officially classifies them as part
of another ethnic minority known as the Naxi, but the two are distinct in both culture and
language.
The Mosuo live with extended family in large households; at the head of each is a matriarch.
Lineage is traced through the female side of the family, and property is passed down along
the same matriline. Mosuo women typically handle business decisions and men handle
politics. Children are raised in the mother's households and take her name.

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The Mosuo have what's called walking marriages." There is no institution of marriage; rather,
women choose their partners by literally walking to the mans home and the couples never live

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6ModernSocietiesWhereWomenLiterallyRule|MentalFloss

together. Since children always remains in the mothers care, sometimes the father plays little
role in the upbringing. In some cases, the father's identity is not even known. Instead, the
males childrearing responsibilities remain in his own matrilineal household.

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2. MINANGKABAU
At four million people, the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, Indonesia, (pictured above, during
a harvest season celebratino)are the largest known matrilineal society today. In addition to
tribal law requiring all clan property to be held and bequeathed from mother to daughter, the
Minangkabau firmly believe the mother to be the most important person in society.
In Minangkabau society, women usually rule the domestic realm while the men take the
political and spiritual leadership roles. However, both genders feel the separation of powers
keeps them on an equal footing. Upon marriage, every woman acquires her own sleeping
quarters. The husband may sleep with her, but must leave early in the morning to have
breakfast at his mothers home. At age 10, boys leave their mothers home to stay in men's
quarters and learn practical skills and religious teachings. While the clan chief is always male,
women select the chief and can remove him from office should they feel he failed to fulfill his
duties.

3. AKAN
The Akan people are a majority in Ghana, where they predominantly reside. The Akan social
organization is fundamentally built around the matriclan, wherein one'sidentity, inheritance,
wealth, and politics are all determined. All matriclan founders are female, but men traditionally
hold leadership positions within the society. These inherited roles, however, are passed down
matrilineallymeaning through a man's mothers and sisters (and their children). Often, the
man is expected to not only support his own family, but those of his female relatives.

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4. BRIBRI
The Bribri are a small indigenous group of just over 13,000 people living on a reserve in the
Talamanca canton in the Limn province of Costa Rica. Like many other matrilineal societies,
the Bribri are organized into clans. Each clan is made up of extended family, and the clan is
determined through the mother/females. Women are the only ones who traditionally can
inherit land. Women are also endowed with the right to prep the cacao used in sacred Bribri
rituals.

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5. GARO
Much like their Khasi neighbors in the North-East Indian state of Meghalaya, the TibetoBurman-speaking Garos pass property and political succession from mother to daughter
typically, he youngest daughter inherits her mother's property. Much like the Akan, however,
the societiy is matrilineal but not matriarchal: the men govern the society and manage
property.
Oftentimes, the youngest daughter's marriage is arranged for her. But for non-inheriting
daughters, the process can be much more complex. In Garo tradition, the groom-to-be is
expected to run away from a proposal of marriage, requiring the bride-to-be's family to
"capture" him and return him to his potential bride's villiage. This back-and-forth is repeated
until the bride either gives up, or the groom accepts her proposal (often after she has made
many promises to serve and obey him). Once married, the husband lives in his wifes house.
Should it not work out, the union is dissolved without social stigma, as marriage is not a
binding contract.

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6. NAGOVISI
The Nagovisi live in South Bougainville, an island west of New Guinea. Anthropologist Jill Nash
reported Nagovisi society was divided into two matrilineal moieties, which are then divided
into matriclans. Nagovisi women are involved in leadership and ceremonies, but take the most
pride in working the land entitled to them. Nash observed that when it comes to marriage, the
Nagovisi woman held gardening and shared sexuality at equal importance. Marriage is not
institutionalized. If a couple is seen together, sleeps together, and the man assists the woman
in her garden, for all intents and purposes they are considered married.

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This post originally appeared in 2012.

September 29, 2014 - 12:00am

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Jointhediscussion
nobodyimportant 2yearsago

Thesearehardlymodernsocieties.Also,youneedtolookup"matrilineal"and
"matriarchial"beforeyouusethosetermsagain.
13

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MarkDanielJohansen>nobodyimportant 10monthsago

"modern(adj):Oforrelatingtorecenttimesorthepresent".Dothesesocieties
existinthepresent?Yes.Thus,bydefinition,theyare"modern".What,doyou
think"modern"means"oforrelatingtowesternEurope"?
60

Reply Share

PJ>MarkDanielJohansen 10monthsago

nobodyimportantneedstolearnthedifferencebetweenmodernand
modernised
8

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mclovin89>MarkDanielJohansen 8monthsago

thoughthatisagoodpointandratherrefreshingtohere.poepleseemto
usetheword"modern"synonymoustowesternoramerican.
Likepeoplewillsaylifeinafghanistanisntmodern.Whichisfalsetheyjust
arentfirstworldyetanddonthaveourvalues.
whetheranationisasliberalasswedenorconservativeassaudiarabia,
bothcanbefirstworld.Itsallaboutthemoneythecountrymakesandhow
itsspentonjobs,education,healthcareandinfrastructurethatsit.
1

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KrisRaleigh 2yearsago

Theyexisttoday,thatmakesthemmodernsocieties.Theymightnotbeas"developed"
or"modern"inthesensethatyouwantthatwordtomean,but...Whatelsecouldthey
be?They'renotancientsocieties.
Also,thewordmatrilinealhasbeenusedcorrectlyinthisarticle.Thewordmatriarchyisn't
evenusedonce.
Lasttimeanyoneshouldevertakeadvicefromsomebodywhoselfidentifiesas"nobody
important."
57

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goodgirl111>KrisRaleigh ayearago

Yousoundjudgementalandrude.Youcommenttocuttheotherpersondown.
Youseemtohaveadeeperissuebehindyourcomment.Ibelievethistypeof
societyhastheRealabilitytoemergebutwillit.Onlytimewilltell.Prophecy
speaksofthisemerginginthenextthousandsyears.HillAryRodhamClintonisa
goodstartforthefemininetotakeherthroneback.Thatwouldbeasignofthe
times.Secretknowledge.
3

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goodgirl111>goodgirl111 ayearago

AlthoughIthinkwomentendtobemorebalancedwantingaequalmale
partnerforthemostpart.Thisishowitdiffersfrommanbasedsociety.
Womenrmoreaboutequality.Iwonderifthat'sathemeintotoday's
emergingsociety.Wellonlytimewilltellifittrulymanifests.
6

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goodgirl111>goodgirl111 ayearago

Thefeminineenergyisnowshiningonearthsince2013.Theshift
happensoyouseethepromanperformancesoutinsociety
fightingthefeminine.Theenergymakespeopleactdifferently.Alot
ofmovements.Atearingdownoftheoldforthenewtoemerge.
Thefinancialaspectchange.Itallchangesstartingnow.Freedom
goeshandinhandwiththis.Everythingisbeingturnedonitshead.
Somewillfightitonlytofindoutinstantkarmawillconsumethem.
That'smyintuitivereadingonthematternowactionswilltellhowit
playsout.It'ssupposetobeworldwide.Middleeastit'sa
nightmare.Dotheyoppresse?yestheydoohyourhavingahard
time.Yesmorethaneverit'shappening.Onlythewisewillknow.
Thirdeyereadings.
3

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goodgirl111>goodgirl111 ayearago

Useegayrights,cannabis,equality,andunconditionallove
emerging.Thesersomeofthechangesfightingtoemerge.There
isflippingmuchnooneknowsaboutthisIsatinypieceofthe
puzzle.Sexualfreedomisanotheronebutmaybeonethingleads
toanother.Inotexactlywhattheymean,myreadings.Iamtoldsex
issacred.Seehowtheothersideofcoincanbeflipped.Thegay
bansgetsflippedovertotheothersideofcoingoingfromnegative
topositivebythemoreenlightenedcrowd.Motherenergyisabout
puretruth.Thenewtruththatreallyisancienttruth.Ifyou
understandmecongratsyourconsciousnessissomewhat
evolved.2012ismoreaboutbeginningsnotsomuchendings.
Theyrthosespecialpeoplethatevenmadeamovieaboutit.
Illusionsreasytopullwhenmajorityisthirdeyeblind.
7

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DanielRyslink>goodgirl111 5monthsago

Idon'tknowhowoldareyou,butyourwritingseemstoindicate
youmustbeveryyoung.Ihaveseenmanyplotting,envious,and
yes,evenaggressivewomeninmylife.Womenarecapableof
cruelty,violenceandhatred,andoftenmuchmorefocusedand
lastingthantheirmalecounterparts.It'struethatwomentrytolook
friendly,emphatic,emotionalandcaring,becausethatmakesthem
attractiveandimprovestheirsocialimage,buttheyarealsomuch
betteractorsandliarsthanmen.
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betteractorsandliarsthanmen.
3

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Truelitistnot>DanielRyslink 4monthsago

HillaryClinton.

Reply Share

giddypony>DanielRyslink 2monthsago

problemtictogeneralizethisway.Somewomenmaybebutin
general...kenkillwomen...

Reply Share

Tronmartin>goodgirl111 2monthsago

LOL,thesesocietiesarenotbalanced.Menarenotequalandthe
womenarenotattemptingtomakeitthatwayeither.

Reply Share

Hibernia86>goodgirl111 ayearago

Whenyourcommentsaid"Prophecyspeaksof..."IknewIwaswasting
mytimereadingit.
34

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PJ>goodgirl111 10monthsago

1.wasthereareasonthatthisneededtobefourseparateposts?
2."Prophecyspeaksofthis"equalsinstantdiscrediting.
8

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L.Magnus>PJ 10monthsago

3.referringtothemovie"2012"assomethingotherthanan
hilariousdisasteradventuremovietrumpsallinthe"instant
discrediting"department
4

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Tronmartin>goodgirl111 2monthsago

Goodgirl111,
Thesesocietiesshowthatwomenarenobetteratacceptingmenas
equalsthanmenareofacceptingwomen.Ifanythingoursocietyismore
equalthatthese.IfhistoryhastaughtusanythingitisthatBALANCEis
thekeytosuccess.Thegendersneedtoworktogether.Idonotknow
whothinkswomenaremoreaboutequalitybuttheyaremistaken.Women
aremoreabouttheirequalitybutdonotwantmentobeequaltothem.

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Andrew>KrisRaleigh 2monthsago

Perhapsyoushouldlearnbetterreadingcomprehension,sincematriarchsand
matriarchiesareintroducedinthesecondsentence.

Reply Share

KrisRaleigh 2yearsago

*Correction,thewordmatriarchyisused,butonlytodefinetheword.AsfarasIcantell,
noneofthesesocietieshavebeendescribedasmatriarchies,wherewomenbothownall
thepropertyandhaveallthepoliticalpower.
11

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anannya ayearago

Ok..whyareLakshadweep&partsofKeralamissinginthislist?Thatwouldmakeit8
modernsocieties.
5

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SandyMoran>anannya ayearago

IjustlookedupLakshadweepinWikipedia,anddidnotreadanythingabout
matriarchs.WherecanIgotoreadaboutit?
7

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SteveShaw ayearago

Let'ssee,intheMosuoculture,themendonothavetobearoundthebratstheycreated.
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Let'ssee,intheMosuoculture,themendonothavetobearoundthebratstheycreated.
Theydon'thavetoliveinthesamehousewiththewomen,andsometimestheydon't
evenknowwhichchildrentheyfathered.Andthisisconsideredtoberuleswherewomen
rule?SoundslikeDetroit.
25

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YuliQueenBee>SteveShaw 6monthsago

Yeahtheauthorofthearticleneedstolearnthedefinitionof"ruling"becausethey
aren'treallyruling.Heprobablymeantthatthewomenarerulingthemselves,
especiallyintheMosuoculture,they'refreefrommenandapparentlyaren't
shamedforthis.That'sthemajordifferencewithpatriarchalsocieties:womenown
theirbodiesandchildren,whileinpatriarchal,women'sbodiesandchildrenbelong
tothemen.Basically,thesesocietiesarejustnotpatriarchal(orlesspatriarchal)
butnosignofwomen"ruling".
1

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Titan000>SteveShaw 6monthsago

InMosuoculturethisleadstolackofparentalinvestmentonthemen'spart
comparedtopatriarchieswheremenownwomenandchildren.
Inancienthistorynomatriarchybecameacivilizationoranempire.Orifanydid
existwereconqueredbythesuperiormilitarymightofpatriarchy.
2

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nour ayearago

thatscool!
1

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percynjpn 10monthsago

"Whorunstheworld?Inthesesixsocieties:Girls."
Somethingdoesn'tmakesensehere.
Also,intheLandoftheBlind,uglywomenarekingorsoitwouldappearbyyourphoto
justanobservation.

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DennyPrihastawan>percynjpn 10monthsago

Soyouconsideryourselfabeautifulcreature?Byputtingupadogphotoforyour
profile,yourselfconfidenceonyourownphysicalpresenceshouldreallybe
questioned.Youdonothavetherightstocallanyoneelseuglyifyouarealso
ugly,orperhapsevenuglier.Justareminder.
15

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MarkDanielJohansen 10monthsago

Whatisthedefinitionof"ruledbywomen"?Germanyhasawomanheadofstateright
now.Iwouldthinkitis,therefore,asocietyruledbyawoman.Statisticsroutinelyshow
thatwomenintheUnitedStatescontrolmorewealththanmen,andamajorityofthe
votersinmostelectionsarewomen,soonecouldarguethattheU.S.isruledbywomen.
7

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DanielleCampbell>MarkDanielJohansen 10monthsago

OneglanceateitherHouseshouldtellyouthatwearenotruledbywomen.
Frankly,wearecurrentlyruledbycorporationsandrichassholes,butnotby
women.Ifwewere,thePentagonwouldlikelybeholdingbakesales,andour
childrenwouldnotbegoingwithoutfood.
9

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Tronmartin>DanielleCampbell 2monthsago

Ourchildrenaregoingwithoutfoodbecauseofmom'sanddadswhodo
notreallythinkaboutorplantheirchildren.Bothgendersareresponsible
forchildrenthattheydonotwant,cannotaffordandchildrentheycannot
feed.Parentsarepoorrolemodelsfortheirchildrenwhenitcomestoliving
withintheirmeans.Gee,whatdoesthatmean?Westartourmarriagesoff
nowwithchildrenandwithdebt.Womenallwantbigweddingsand
diamondrings.Whynottakeallthatmoneyandputitawayasanestegg
orputadownpaymentonasmallhousethatneedsalittlework.Thenfixit

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upalittleatatimeandthensellitforaprofit.What'swrongwithliving
withinyourmeans?Iamnotsayingthattherearenotsituationslike
catastrophicillnessesorfinancialhardshipsbutlivingindebtsetsyouup
tofailifsomethinghappens.Ourcorporationsandsomewealthypeople
andbusinesshaveprofitedwhileoureconomydeclinedthisistrue.
However,mypointisthatthereisstillalotofpersonalresponsibility
involvedhere.
Also,Ipersonallydonotwantthepentagontohaveabakesale.The
realityisthatourmilitaryiswhatallowsyoutopostyouropinionhere
withoutfearofretaliation.Ifyouthinkthatwomenrunningthecountry
wouldbebetterthanmenguessagain.Acongressfullofestrogenwould
bedifferentthanacongressfulloftestosteronebutnotanybetter.
BALANCEisthekey.

Reply Share

DanielleCampbell>Tronmartin 2monthsago

Ipersonallyhavenoproblemwiththeconceptoflivingwithinour
meansbuta)ourmeansincludethefederalmoniesfromthe
PEOPLE'Sland,andOURtaxes,andb)howwouldyou*know*it
wouldn'tbebetter?IthasneverhappenedYET.Balancedoesnot
looklike20womento200men.BALANCEwouldreflectthe
ACTUALpopulation,whichisMUCHcloserto50/50than1/10.I
actuallyagreewithyouonthewholesubjectofweddings,it'sa
racket,and,priortobreakinganengagement,mypersonalplans
weretoVegasit,andputthe"mahrem/dowry"moneymyex
fiance'straditionalfamilyinsistedonpayingintoatrustforfuture
offspring.HOWEVER,noamountofthemiddleandlowerclasses'
pennypinchingisgoingtodoathingtooffsettheastounding
HOARDINGofwealthbeingpassedthroughinheritancetotheone
percent.Everystudywilltellyou,ourmiddleclassisdisappearing,
andtheultraricharegettingricherateveryoneelse'sexpense.
Thisiswhathappenswhenminimumwageisn'traisedalongwith
costoflivingandinflation.Thisiswhathappenswhen
deregulationsreducestheavailabilityofjobswithbenefitsand
retirementpackages.Thisiswhathappenswhenweallowour
companiestooutsourceourjobswhilebenefitingfromourtaxcuts.
Ourpoliticianshaveallowedtheirpersonalcorporatesponsorsto
destroytheAmericanpeople,andit'stimeweshowedthem,
unequivocally,thatthisisunacceptable.And,no,I*don't*thinkour
rulingbodywouldbeactingexactlythesameifwomenwerein
charge,orevenifwejustACTUALLYhadtheEQUAL
REPRESENTATIONwefoughtarevolutionfor.
1

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Tronmartin>DanielleCampbell 2monthsago

Idonotbelievethatourrulingbodywouldbeactingthesameif
womenwereincharge.Iwouldliketoseemorediversityinour
rulingbodytoo.However,goingfromoneextreme(allmen)tothe
otherextreme(allwomen)isnotnecessarily"better."
Asfortheminimumwage,Iamnotforraisingit.Here'swhy.First
letmestatethatIwasraisedinasingleparentfamily,Ihave
studentloans,childsupport,anddaughterincollegeherself.Iam
workingonmydegreestill.Aftermydivorceyearsagoandthe
declineofthehousingmarket,Iwassleepinginmycarforabout6
months.Iwasalwaysworking.Ihaveneverbeenrichand
probablywillneverbe.Now,whenIdecidedtohaveafamilymy
wifeandIwerebothworkinganddoingwellbutIstillaskedmyself,
"Ifsomethinghappenstomywife,willIstillbeabletoaffordtoraise
mychildwithoutgovernmentassistance?Theanswerwasyesso
wehadachild.
TherewasatimeinmylifewhenIwasmakingminimumwageand
IwassmartenoughtoknowthatIcouldnotaffordakid.
Apparently,peoplethingyoushouldbeabletosupportafamilyon
seemore

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vitorodriguez>MarkDanielJohansen 10daysago

developedbymenthough.menmadetherules.sheisjustplayingbythem.soits
notamtriarcalsocietyifsheruledforthenext20years

Reply Share

RogerWilco 10monthsago

Whocares.Ick!

Reply Share

Leez 10monthsago

Istheeditoronvacation?
1

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Dan 10monthsago

Matrilinealandmatriarchalarenotthesame.TheyareNOTmoderninanyrelevantsense
oftheword.SuretheyexistinthepresentbutsodopatriarchalhuntergatherersinBrazil
andNewGuinea.Probablyafewcannibalsandheadhuntersaswell.Ifyouwanttoreally
lookat"modern"matriarchygotoRwandawherewomennowhaveamajorityinthe
parliamentandholdmanyimportantotherpositions.TruethepresidentisPaulKagamea
manbutIt'saboutascloserulebywomenasyou'regonnagettoday.AsRwanda
recoversfromthebloodygenocideitisawonderfultestcaseofwhatwomencando
whentheyreallyhavepowertorule.
2

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plmqaz 9monthsago

KalashpeopleofChitralinnorthernPakistanisalsofemalerunsociety.

Reply Share

Jo 7monthsago

HA,womenliterallyrule?You'veclearlyoverlookedtheglaringmaledominanceinalmost
everyoneofthesecommunities,thestandardsbywhichyou'vemeasuredequalityare
sobasics.Marriagesdissolvingwithoutstigma,beingfreetochooseamate.That's
hardlyrulingit'salmostbarelyonparwiththewesternworldwhichisnotoriouslysexist

Reply Share

Titan000 6monthsago

Theyseemrareandculturallyandtechnologicallystagnant.Itseemswheremenarein
chargebothinthefamilyandinpoliticsthereisalotofdynamismwithsocietiesconstantly
inthestateofflux.Whileinfemaleruledsocietiesitisstablebutstagnantandcanonlygo
sofar.Onecannottransitiontothenextstageofsocietywithoutpatriarchy.
Therearemanypositivesandnegativesassociatedwithbothpatriarchiesand
matriarchies.
2

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Truelitistnot 4monthsago

Ifitwereadvantageousitwouldexistinaverydominateandobviouswayafterseveral
millionyearsofhumanevolution.Theabsenceofsuchasocietyonadominatescale,or
evenasignificantscale,giventhesocietaldiversitypresentonearthoverhumanhistory
showsitdoesn'tprovideenoughofanadvantagetoimplementit.Perhapsinthefuture
givenacompletelydifferentsetofrequirementsforsocietalsurvival,butnotinthe
foreseeablefutureanyway.
1

Reply Share

debnadaviebna 4monthsago

Isuggestallmodernfeministsmovetooneofthosesocieties
1

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Tronmartin 2monthsago

It'sinterestingtoseethatinsocietiesrunbywomendonothaveequalityofthegenders.
Nowwhywouldwomenthinktheycoulddobetterthanmenwhenclearlytheycannotor
donotwantto?

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Georg>Tronmartin 2monthsago

veryinterestingthecommentsofmenhere,whodonotfeelthatthepatriarchyis
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veryinterestingthecommentsofmenhere,whodonotfeelthatthepatriarchyis
outdated.Theoddthingisthatmostofusbelieveintheoldtestament(Genesis).If
youareopentothestreamsofthefutureyoucanlooktoAuroville.

Reply Share

Tronmartin>Georg 2monthsago

IfeelthatPatriarchiesandMatriarchiesareoutdated.Ijustdonotseehow
matriarchiesareBETTERthanPatriarchies.Theyaredifferentbutnot
better.Iwouldratherliveinacountrythathasabetterbalanceof
masculineandfeminineenergies.Matriarchiesjusthavealackof
masculineenergy.

Reply Share

Georg 2monthsago

ItisinterestingthatallourwesternsocietyisformedbytheoldbibleandRomancultures,
bothextremelychauvinistic.Germanlanguagehasgotforeachobjectagenderfemale
maleorneutral.Themostimportantobjectslikethesun,earth,power,might,majesty
havegotallthefemalegender.
Thepresentedsocietieswherethewomenhavegotthesayareinawaymoremodernas
theobscurechauvinistattitudesaremissing.
Inoursocietyweallclaimequalityofthegendersanditiswritteninallconstitutions.Butit
isnotrealised.InGermanyoldagerentofmenisgenerallythedoubleofwhatwomen
get.
Finallyitisnotacknowledgedthatwomenarebetterinorganizingthanmen.Duringworld
warIIitwasawomanwhoorganizedandrealizedasavingretreatconsideredabsolutely
impossiblebythegreatgenerals.

Reply Share

Jim amonthago

Itsnotmodernbutthousandsyearsbacksocietiesbindbywomentogetherwithmenfolk
toseebettertomorrow

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DID YOU KNOW?Marlon Brando hated memorizing lines so much that he posted cue cards everywhere to help him get
through scenes. He even asked for lines to be written on an actress's posterior. (That request was denied.)
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