The Creation of Patriarchy
The Creation of Patriarchy
by Gerda Lerner
published in 1986 by Oxford University Press
nonfiction
As I have gotten older, the more I read, learn, observe, ponder, listen, question, contemplate, think… I have come to the conclusion just how important it is for us to have a broader view of our history… that includes what I want to call herstory (history of women).
Until we lived in Thailand 2006-2010, I had not really given much thought to the word patriarchy. In my understanding, patriarchy referred to ways of existing that just “were—the way things are—an unseen normalization”. Or it was something that framed the ancient structures of “Abrahamic traditions”… something that I really didn’t need to concern myself with.
When we moved to Thailand, I experienced a somewhat matriarchal society for the first time, and I began to notice a slight shift in my perspective. This slight shift laid a foundation that over time began allowing me to make new connections in systems and structures that shape our common memory. I found that there was so much that I didn’t know about women in history. The history I had been taught usually revolved around what men had accomplished… with the occasional woman thrown in for good measure or to support a stereotype. Several years ago, it occurred to me how important knowing herstory was and that what women are able to have today isn’t how it’s always been and how easily and quickly it can all be taken away. I also came to the conclusion that I had unknowingly participated in my own subjugation as a woman.
When I came across this book, The Creation of Patriarchy, I was very intrigued. I think I heard it mentioned on a podcast where the person interviewed summed up the importance of this book by saying, and I paraphrase, to the extent a woman participates in her own subjugation to patriarchy is in direct correlation to her lack of knowledge of Women’s History. This was the very conclusion I had come to…
When we grow up in, under, around Patriarchy and the dominating characteristics innate to how it functions, we are all shaped and our brains are wired in ways we don’t even think to consider. Can we even imagine life where ALL people can truly be equal with one another? Gerda Lerner laid out the history that at one time men and women were more equal in certain civilizations. We as women need to know this history(herstory) and begin creating spaces and systems that reflect partnership among people not patriarchy and dominance.
Gerda Lerner covers and connects multiple academic disciplines. She builds this book like a Lego instruction manual… step by step… bringing the reader along and anticipating the reader’s questions. There were a couple of chapters in the middle that I had to slog through, but I’m so glad I continued reading to the end. I found the final chapter especially inspiring and hopeful. She offers a robust bibliography, detailed notes, index, and a section for definitions. Oh to have had the opportunity to engage with her as a professor! What an experience that would have been!
