On International Women’s Day, we traced the origins of patriarchy — asking why male-dominated social structures emerged and why they proved so durable. Biology, agriculture, and early state formation all featured in the debate, as did the uncomfortable question of whose narrative shapes the historical record. We sat with the realisation that patriarchy’s most effective trick was to make its hierarchies appear natural.
Materials
Main
- Article on how did patriarchy actually begin? — BBC Future, concise and well-sourced (article · BBC)
- A podcast covering the history of patriarchy with the author of "The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule" — either this one (very entertaining) or that one (a bit shorter) (podcast · Spotify)
- Evolution: how Victorian sexism influenced Darwin's theories — short article by a scientist (article · The Conversation)
- Short video on The Patriarchy's influence on Social Media and Gen Z | Isa Baron | TEDxRanchoCampanaHS (YouTube · 6 min)
- And another podcast — by a religious fundamentalist (trigger warning: he really means this): The most common lies feminists tell about the patriarchy — you can report content on Spotify as hate speech (podcast · Spotify · 14 min)
Supplementary
- Interview with UCL professor: How did the patriarchy start — and will evolution get rid of it? (article · UCL)
- Example of what matriarchy looks like: China's Last Matriarchy: The Land Where Women Rule (YouTube)
- Hello! You've Reached the Not All Men Hotline! — Zawn Villines (article)
Session structure
- International Women's Day — what did you find?
- What are your thoughts on IWD? What did you read or see about it?
- What were you taught in school or university about gender roles — through history, biology, ethics?
- How did that shape your current thinking?
- What does biology say about patriarchy?
- Insight: bonobos are not patriarchal — patriarchy is therefore not explainable by biology alone
- 160 matrilineal societies exist (e.g. the Mosuo in China)
- The 9,000-year-old site of Çatalhöyük in Turkey: gender did not determine social organisation
- Victorian sexism influenced Darwin — he dismissed female agency and downplayed competition among sperm
- Darwin: "I certainly think that women, though generally superior to men in moral qualities, are inferior intellectually"
- Origins of patriarchy
- Agriculture hypothesis: strength needed for fieldwork, passing on wealth → restricting women's sexual freedom. But women have always done agricultural work — the timeline doesn't add up
- State formation hypothesis: more citizens = more power → women expected to produce offspring → women disappear from historical records and become property of men
- "The lasting psychological damage of the patriarchal state was to make its gendered order appear normal, even natural" — Angela Saini
- Who was telling this story? Who wrote what you consumed?
- Whose research? Whose narrative? Whose definition of "natural"?
- What is society saying about patriarchy today?
- Social media influencers — connection to Andrew Tate and "maximising reproductive success"
- Is matriarchy a solution? Or is the goal something else entirely?
- What role does religion play?
- How does this change your perspective?
- What will you do differently after today?
Comments are reviewed by the organisers before appearing here.