Origins of Patriarchy: Material Basis of Patriarchy Rubina Saigol

What is Patriarchy? Division of the world into mutually exclusive categories of MEN and WOMEN Hierarchization of one category MEN over WOMEN Control of senior males over both women and younger males Male control over economic, social and political resources

Has Patriarchy Always Existed Some believe patriarchy has always existed and will never change Some believe that it is natural and universal Others believe that patriarchy is manmade and has not always existed It had a beginning and therefore will end, it is historical and social

Traditionalist View of Patriarchy Traditionalists believe that patriarchy is biologically determined and is the best system Women’s subordination is universal, God-given, natural and therefore immutable It posits that the “division of labor” is based on primary biological difference and social roles and tasks should be based on this difference It assumes men to be breadwinners and women to be mothers

Critique of Traditionalist Theory Theories that consider men to be naturally superior and main providers have been challenged Research done on hunting/gathering societies shows that women participated in hunting Agriculture, women’s occupation, was the main source of provision Women’s gathering activities were also central in ensuring livelihood There are vast differences found in men and women’s relative value in different societies so the division is not ‘natural’

Religious and Psudo-scientific Traditionalism Challenged The idea that man was created prior to and superior to woman is relegated to myth The idea that since women bear children and menstruate they are inferior has been overthrown The ideas that men are active, rational, strong, objective and women are passive, emotional, weak and subjective stand challenged Modern psychology that posited ‘anatomy is destiny’ stands discredited No historical or scientific evidence of male supremacy as natural found

Questions about patriarchy How did patriarchy begin? Why did it begin? Was it preceded by matriarchy? How were different roles and values assigned to men and women? When did subordination begin? There is no single answer or explanation but without understanding the origin and history of patriarchy it is hard to know how or what needs to be changed.

Engels’ Explanation of Patriarchy “Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State”. Women’s subordination began with the origin of private property It led to “the world historical defeat of the female sex” Division of classes and subordination of women developed simultaneously Three periods, Savagery, Barbarism and Civilization

Position of Women in Savagery and Barbarism In Savagery human beings lived almost like animals, gathered food and hunted; ancestry was through the mother and there was no marriage or notion of private property In Barbarism, hunting and gathering continued but gradually agriculture and animal husbandry developed; men moved further afield and women stayed back to mind the children and look after the homestead; a sexual division of labor developed but women had power

Women’s Position in Civilization Domestication of animals and principle of impregnation They developed bigger and better weapons for hunting which were also used in inter-group fights between clans Slavery developed and groups started acquiring animals, land and slaves through wars, especially female slaves “All this led to the formation of private property. Men wanted to retain power and property, and pass it on to their own children. To ensure this inheritance, mother-right was overthrown.” In order to establish Father-right, women had to be domesticated and confined and their sexuality regulated and controlled. In this period and for these reasons both patriarchy and monogamy for women established

Civilization: Economic Development and Women’s Subordination Surplus was now produced and controlled by men Women became economically dependent on men Modern civilization was based on restricting women to the home to produce heirs for private property Sexual double standards in marriage, monogamy for women and polygamy for men Women’s household labor became private service, they became head-servants Women became excluded from production/public-private divide

Frederich Engels “The overthrow of the mother right was the world historical defeat of the female sex. The man took command in the home also; the woman was degraded and reduced to servitude; she became the slave of his lust and a mere instrument for the production of children.”

Modern Patriarchies Patriarchies are universal-national/imperial l Patriarchies are culturally articulated Patriarchies enter into all social/state institutions Patriarchies enter all socio-economic systems Patriarchies are historical and changeable