History of the family Hunter-gatherer societies Small families living in small clans, intermariage, mobility Horticultural societies Some stability of the population and some marriage rules, gender equality Advanced horticultural societies Larger, complex, extended families; emerging importance of fertility; stronger rules for marriage by social class

Agrarian States Use of animal power to support agricultural production Plow technology enabling a permanent settlement on the land Significant agricultural surplus Control of land was directly related to wealth Complex military, political, and religious systems could be supported Emerging commerce and manual production of goods (cottage industries)

Agrarian states - Family Household was a place for production Household & family no longer corresponded one-to-one Non-family members of the household contributed to the household economy Household was mainly an economic unit Household and family members were valued because they contributed to the production (better if they did not contribute to the consumption, thus servants and slaves) Control of within household production and consumption became important – within household stratification

Agrarian states – Family - continued Hostilities between households were common (over control of means of production and commerce) Acquisition of land resulted in wealth – rise of aristocracy Between aristocratic families marriage politics and inheritance became very important Defending the household became important Maximal male domination – patriarchy Sons were valued over daughters (military and economic advantage) Within family conflict was common – power struggles, inheritance issues

History of the patriarchal family and subordination of women Before the rise of the large urban societies in the middle east, women were held in high esteem Goddesses Artifacts, burial sites, etc. (e.g., Catal Hoyuk) With advancement of agriculture and food surplus: Importance of increasing population Warfare Production Importance of defense Possibility of sustaining religious-ideological structures

History of the patriarchal family and subordination of women Emergence of reproduction as something to be protected and maximized High level of infant mortality High level of adult mortality due to infectious diseases and warfare

Patriarchal social order Patriarchal family is designed to guarantee the paternity of the heirs Women’s sexuality becomes a property of men (father and husband) Valuable Can be traded as an object Virginity becomes a negotiable property Women’s status declined No more goddesses

Examples of women as property Code Hammurabi (1750 BC) Women and children could be pawned for up to 3 years A husband could beat and mutilate his wife in certain specified ways A woman who was found to neglect her duties as a wife was punished by drowning If a man raped a woman, his punishment was to have his wife raped Rules about veiling Veil indicated a wife or a daughter (off-limits property of a man) Slaves and prostitutes could not veil (penalties were severe) Veil indicated a woman’s place in the society which was determined by the man who was her patriarch

Examples of women as property Harems Size of the harem as an indicator of wealth Darius  365 wives (300 BC) Sasanian  thousands (200-500 AD) Segregation of male and female spaces in households

Examples of women as property Zoroastrianism (middle-eastern religion 1000BC-500AD) Wife required to have total obedience to husband and will repeat that 9 times every morning Wives must produce a male heir If not, the daughter must produce one and give it to the father  a lower order marriage If widowed, offspring of subsequent marriage belongs to the first husband A man can loan his wife to a friend for a specific duration spelled out in a contract “A woman is a field. All which grows there belongs to the owner even if he did not plant it.”

Examples of women as property Classical Greek culture: Aristotle (350BC) – His teachings were presented as scientific truths in Arab and European civilizations Purpose of marriage is to provide heirs Female heir must produce a male heir to her father’s household It is a social necessity that women are subordinated Men rule over women as soul over body and rational over passionate “A woman’s body is like an impotent male, for it is through a certain incapacity that the female is a female.” Male contributes the soul to the offspring, the female only the flesh

Some cases when women could have power Upper class women could own and manage property and enter into contracts Women could be their husband’s deputy in managing property, household production and slaves HOWEVER, Rights and privileges entirely derived from the male to whom they were attached.

Christian ideology Christian societies from very early on, clashed with other extant religions on gender issues: Earlier religions  Women are defined by their sexuality and capacity to reproduce Christianity  Chastity and virginity (marriage to God) as a way of serving God Early Christians had major battle of ideologies over the sexuality of women Zoroastrians pressured Christian nuns to denounce their virginity Nuns resisted by martyrdom  a symbolic resistance (threat) to the present social order

Agrarian states – Gender stratification Patriarchal system resulted in domination of women by men in marriage therefore in sexual activity (especially premarital) Higher level of control over women was associated with more property (higher stakes in controlling sexual activity) – sign of status Ideological importance of domination of women – women as agents of temptation, to be controlled for their own good Symbols of domination became symbols of status – veils, binding of feet, female genital mutilation In lower classes with limited property females were relatively free and relatively less dominated