La discusi贸n en torno al patriarcado no ha dejado de estar presente en la historiograf铆a y en el feminismo en las 煤ltimas d茅cadas. Sin embargo, no existe consenso en el pensamiento feminista a la hora de dotar de centralidad al patriarcado en la estructura y organizaci贸n social capitalista. 驴Hasta qu茅 punto el patriarcado atraviesa el orden actual? 驴En torno a qu茅 par谩metros se produjo esta institucionalizaci贸n, que comenz贸 en la familia y se extendi贸 al resto de la sociedad? Gerda Lerner realiza un acercamiento a la Antigua Mesopotamia a trav茅s de fuentes primarias. Deja de lado la victimizaci贸n de las mujeres, as铆 como el mito del matriarcado, para afrontar un an谩lisis que nos lleva a otras preguntas. Consigue, as铆 mismo, dar la centralidad que se suele negar a los discursos hist贸ricos a la hora de pensar el momento actual. Por todo esto, La creaci贸n del patriarcado es un libro referencial para construir par谩metros hist贸ricos que nos permitan entender la realidad de manera compleja.
Gerda Lerner was a historian, author and teacher. She was a professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison and a visiting scholar at Duke University.
Lerner was one of the founders of the field of women's history, and was a former president of the Organization of American Historians. She played a key role in the development of women's history curricula. She taught what is considered to be the first women's history course in the world at the New School for Social Research in 1963. She was also involved in the development of similar programs at Long Island University (1965鈥�1967), at Sarah Lawrence College from 1968 to 1979 (where she established the nation's first Women's History graduate program), at Columbia University (where she was a co-founder of the Seminar on Women), and from 1980 until her retirement as Robinson Edwards Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Gerda Lerner constructs an historical framework for understanding why women of the 21st century still fight to emancipate themselves from male subordination and misogynistic attitudes. She adeptly takes us on a journey through history starting in the second millennium B.C. Lerner makes a persuasive case for women's reproductive capacities and economics as being central to the rise of male power, female subordination, and dominance hierarchies as a system of organizing society. She contends that patriarchy laid the foundation for the construction of Western civilization. Using archeological and artistic evidence, as well as literary works and historical documents, Lerner explicates the "culturally constructed customs and institutions" that forced women into subordination.
Lerner explains that during the hunting and gathering days of early civilization reproductive differences between men and women created a division of labor for it "follows that women would choose or prefer those economic activities which could be combined easily with mothering duties." The life giving capacity innate in a woman's biology, and the psychological bond between mother and child stirred religious worship, symbolism and artistic expression evident by the Mother-Goddess figure painted on the walls of caves and sculptured in stone during the Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods. Hunting and gathering men and women depended on each other for survival, and women were valued and had equal status with men -Lerner suggests women may have even felt superior to men- for it was motherhood that inspired both men and women to "choose the Mother-Goddess as their first form of religious expression. "
The struggle to control nature through agriculture created a shift toward patriarchy. Lerner reveals that it was women's reproductive capacity that men wanted to control for economic reasons. Children became an asset. Their labor was needed to till the soil and shepherd the herds. Certain "ecological conditions and biological irregularities" that threatened the survival of the tribe also contributed to viewing women's bodies as a commodity that could be exchanged with tribes, and acquired through tribal warfare leading to female slavery, concubinage, wives being subordinate to their husbands, and class formation. Lerner traces the rise of male power, the reification of women as the private property of men with the eventual subordination of women (and some men) through the codes and laws of the state, which dehumanized women in order to institutionalize male dominated hierarchies.
Depriving women of their history and achievements is inherent in the system of patriarchy for Lerner contends that it is women's "lack of knowledge of our own history of struggle and achievement that keeps us subordinate." She states, "even those of us already defining ourselves as feminist thinkers and engaged in the process of critiquing traditional systems of ideas are still held back by unacknowledged restraints embedded deeply in our psyches." Lerner's historical account of the construction of Western civilization is meant to educate and enlighten so women and men might recognize internalized paternalistic attitudes and viewpoints that they may not be consciously aware of so they can "free their minds from patriarchal thought and practice and at last to build a world free of dominance and hierarchy, a world that is truly human."
The Creation of Patriarchy is an enthralling, scholarly work that is well researched and footnoted making it difficult for those who wish to dismiss a leading female historian's analysis of women's history and reconceptualization of Western civilization. Lerner's meticulous attention to detail is necessary if women are to become more knowledgable of their history so they can put their present female experience in perspective. The Creation of Patriarchy gives women a ground to stand on -as well as men who wish to become enlightened- so they might find their own way of contributing to the restructuring of society where power is shared and equal rights are valued by all. The Creation of Patriarchy is compelling, and a must read!
Getting five stars because I read it in high school (in "Contemporary Women's Spirituality" at my Catholic school) when I was still a Republican and it raised my consciousness more (relatively) than anything I've read since. Thanks, Sr. Debbie.
This book answered a lot of my "but why is it like this?" questions regarding the position of women.
A few quotes from the final chapter that capture some of the main conclusions:
"...the enslavement of women, combining both racism and sexism, preceded the formation of classes and class oppression. Class differences were, at their very beginnings, expressed and constituted in terms of patriarchal relations. Class is not a separate construct from gender, rather class is expressed in gendereic terms."
"The system of patriarchy can function only with the cooperation of women. This cooperation is secured by a variety of means: gender indoctrination; educational deprivation; the denial of women of knowledge of their history; the dividing of women, on from another, by defining "respectability" and "deviance" according to women's sexual activities; by restraints and outright coercion; by discrimination in access to economic resources and political power; and by awarding class privileges to conforming women."
"For women, other than those of the lower classes, the "reciprocal agreement" went like this: in exchange for your sexual, economic, political, and intellectual subordination to men, you may share in the power of men of your class and exploit men and women of the lower class. In a class society it is difficult for people who themselves have some power, however limited and circumscribed, to see themselves as also deprived and subordinated. Class and racial privileges serve to undercut the ability of women to see themselves as part of a coherent group, which, in fact, they are not, since women uniquely of all oppressed groups occur in all strata of society."
"The androcentric fallacy, which is built into all the mental constructs of Western civilization, cannot be rectified simply by "adding women." What it demands for rectification is a radical restructuring of thought and analysis which once and for all accepts the fact that humanity consists in equal parts of men and women and that the experiences, thoughts, and insights of both sexes must be represented in every generalization that is made about human beings."
I was a bit surprised learning that this was written in 1986, felt much more modern then that. But I guess that's what this subject is, timeless. Utterly fascinating and a great book to learn a lot from and I found the narrator of the audiobook really lifting it up. Very intrigued to read more books about feminism and from this author.
Gerda Lerner nos explica, de manera sencilla y muy documentada, el origen de las desigualdades entre hombres y mujeres desde una perspectiva hist贸rica. Es cierto que tambi茅n tiene mucha literatura y un cap铆tulo entero dedicado a un mont贸n de leyes antiguas pero en l铆neas generales explica acertadamente el origen del patriarcado y c贸mo se ha ido conformando desde hace 2500 a帽os.
Sin duda me quedo con la ideas de que la capacidad reproductiva y los servicios sexuales que puedan otorgar las mujeres, se convirtieron en mercanc铆a incluso antes de la formaci贸n de la civilizaci贸n occidental. Y que la ignorancia por parte de las mujeres de nuestra propia historia de lucha y logros ha sido uno de los principales medios para mantenernos subordinadas y sometidas.
芦El sistema patriarcal solo puede funcionar gracias a la cooperaci贸n de las mujeres. Esta cooperaci贸n le viene avalada de varias maneras: la inculcaci贸n de los g茅neros; la privaci贸n de la ense帽anza; la prohibici贸n de las mujeres a que conozcan su propia historia; la divisi贸n entre ellas al definir la "respetabilidad" y la "desviaci贸n" a partir de sus actividades sexuales; mediante la represi贸n y la coerci贸n total; por medio de la discriminaci贸n en el acceso a los recursos econ贸micos y el poder pol铆tico; y al recompensar con privilegios de clase a las mujeres que se conformen禄.
The Creation of Patriarchy was written by Gerda Lerner and published in 1986, making it slightly outdated but nonetheless, relevant and though-provoking. Lerner writes in a sophisticated and academic kind of way which really appealed to me in particular. It was rich with history, presented in a scholarly fashion which only served to enhance its readability. Lerner did her homework and cited many useful sources where she retrieved her own information and she carefully details her conclusions and opinions in a succinct, to-the-point manner. One could easily discern that Lerner鈥檚 passion is women鈥檚 history and that is something we share. However, I quickly realized there was a whole world of women鈥檚 history I knew absolutely nothing about and it was the era in which she drew her conclusions and theories. She argues that Patriarchy was firmly established before written and recorded history began. That its origins may be in the gender roles of an archaic time in which men hunted and women were horticulturists. She explores this and argues that though it may have been natural then, patriarchy is not a natural state now. It is an historical development over many centuries and during a time in human history in which lifespans were shorter and education vastly different. She goes on to explain the developments of the economy and politics and the roles those things played in the subjugation of women. Her exploration of the role of religion is fascinating as well. She explains that early religions featured strong female deities whose sexuality and fertility were celebrated rather than controlled. These female deities were demoted as monotheistic religion became popular and further strengthened by king-ship states. The male head of the family was the dominant member and this only solidified as the nation-state became solidified under a unifying king. With the birth of monotheistic religions, women were removed from the ability to communicate with the divine. Their communication with the heavens then had to be mediated through men. The only power a woman could achieve from this time until 19th-20th century would only be achieved through men. In my opinion, religion and politics and economic factors drove this domination to its ultimate fever-pitch. Lerner offers various details and evidence left from other ancient societies that male hegemony is historical and not natural. She cites the Iroquois tribe of North America, Spartan society and other societies whose gender roles and freedoms are far different from the patriarchal structure that popped up all over during this time period. Women in these societies enjoyed a better quality of life than a woman in Babylon or Mesopotamia who could be sold into sexual slavery and servitude for life by her husband in order to pay a debt. By far the most fascinating of all was her attention to the earliest laws recorded in human history. She saw these laws as a reflection of the times. She was able to draw conclusions from the patterns she investigated and she noticed that these same patterns appeared in other eras and places based on their own economic and political evolution. The rise of militarism obviously had a great deal to do with the restrictions and abuses imposed upon women. However, one thing that has set Lerner apart from other feminist writers (with the exception of Simone DeBeauvoir) is that she explores female complicity in their own reification and marginalized status. She argues that because women allowed this and passed it on to their children that they played an active role equal to the men of their time in their own subjugation and dehumanization. There were methods of control in the past that still exist today which force women into a secondary status. In the ancient era, because of the female鈥檚 unique biological difference to men, they were commoditized and reified no different than animals or other property. Women and their sexuality were controlled and she carefully explores all of this in a subjective way. The origins of the importance of virginity come from this time period, as well as the numerous stereotypes and gender-role ideology that still flourishes in modern society. Lerner also explains that during this time came the emergence of slave-societies. She explains that in her research, she discovered that the first slaves were women. Though she focuses exclusively on Western Civilization, she acknowledges that Eastern tradition, culture and history also reflect the same developments. The careful attention to the development of slavery was a subject that enthralled and captivated me. There was a great deal of information that I myself had never known. Lerner only stirred the pot of curiosity bubbling riotously inside me and I would recommend this book to anyone hoping to stir that same curiosity. I found this book by chance and I am grateful. I am even more grateful to stumble upon the second volume as well. It opened my eyes, enlightened my mind and made my feminist anger turn into wonder and speculation. We are all victims of this left-over archaic structure and ideology. Men and women share equal responsibility for its formation and we are both responsible for its replacement of a more sensible, more efficient system in which everyone is realized as equal and are allowed to reach their full potential as human beings. As a feminist, it is easy to lose sight of this and to believe that one half oppresses the other half when it is simply not so. We share this burden. We share the ability to change this system. In conclusion, it has piqued my interest in early law, polytheistic religions featuring female deities and the development of civilization. Thanks to Lerner, I plan on exploring these topics and whatever else crops up in their way. She has made a priceless contribution to the world of knowledge and scholarship and to her I am grateful beyond measure.
Let me get straight to the heart of my issues with this book:
1. The narrow focus and even narrower interpretive methodology which is presented as something much wider in scope and implication than what it really is. Ms. Lerner rarely departs from a 2,000 year period in Mesopotamia, almost entirely ignoring other cultures around the world. All of her interpretation is divorced from the original languages in question, and those interpretations are entirely filtered through a Marxist (read: materialist) lens.
2. Ms. Lerner is very euro-centric and misogynist in regards to her historical point of view, and insults the intelligence of just about every woman who ever lived when she says: "It is only in this century that for a small group of women - still only a tiny minority considered on a global scale - the preconditions of educational access and equity have at last become available, so that women themselves could begin to "see" and hence define their predicament." (p. 231) In other words, not only have women before the last 200 years or so (and most women currently outside of the western academic world) been too stupid to see reality for what it is, but in order for them to see it, they needed access to the educational edifice which men have been busy constructing for the past 3000 years. Just to state the obvious, this is not my view, I am merely following her own logic here using her words. In fact, using her own words, women would have never noticed their oppression were it not for the Industrial Revoulution (pp. 241-2), which was brought to us by men (pp. 12-13).
3. Ms. Lerner has a clear disgust for motherhood and nature. "The supplanting of hard physical labor by the labor of machines is considered progress; only women, in their ("traditionalists" - I am by no means one according to the definition she gives btw) view are doomed forever to species service (yes, raising a child is called 'species service') through their biology. To claim that of all human activities only female nurturance is unchanging and eternal (FYI I do not make this claim) is indeed to consign half the human race to a lower state of existence - to nature rather than culture." (p. 20) So... yeah, this whole sentence kind of summed the book up for me. Nature as lower than culture? Life in harmony with nature as a 'lower state of existence'? How Orwellian can this possibly get? And for the record, she does say in the book that "anatomy was once destiny" (p. 53), and that "tribes and groups which women did not mother well probably could not and did not survive". So essentially her entire argument hinges on the idea that, through technology, humanity is 'progressing' and transcending nature and that women shouldn't be left behind with, you know, the mundane task of raising kids to be kind and decent people in the future.
Now I am not saying that women's only 'job' should be raising kids and pumping babies out, but I find her elitism in claiming to be inherently above all that while simultaneously striving for *all* women to be free from that as very unhuman. No human being, man or woman, should consider raising their child a cumbersome task that is beneath them, referred to as 'species service'. If you hate people that much then you should be consigned to your ivory tower where the only thing you will ever have to deal with are books which already agree with what you believe, and perhaps a naive teacher's aide who will confront you from time to time with the weakest possible argument against your position.
4. The word 'power' is thrown around a lot in this book but never adequately defined.
Disclaimer: I picked up this book because I want to learn. I didn't want to come out with guns firing, but Marxist dialectics tend to do that for me. I will continue to look into the subject matter with an open mind. Also, I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because I do agree with a lot of minor points she makes about imbalances in gender, though, as she states herself (p. 241), I think this is mostly a result of the Industrial Revolution, whose social upheaval we are still adjusting too. (I'm also not saying things were perfect before that by any means, but it was very different and difficult to compare)
Also, for the record, if I HAD to pick a 'superior sex', I think I would choose women. Ms. Lerner doesn't seem to understand why, and that's fine - what bothers me is her claims of universality for not only all women but all cultures, and *that* is sexist and neo-imperialist.
"Women's History is indispensable and essential to the emancipation of women" Gerda Lerner writes in the introduction to this book, a conviction she says "rests on my observation of the profound changes in consciousness which students of Women's History experience. Women's History changes their lives."
Reading Lerner's thought-provoking and essential book, it's not hard to see why. The Creation of Patriarchy offers fascinating insight into the roots of gender relations so basic to social organization that they remain not merely unquestioned but effectively invisible. Her central thesis - that the shift from hunting / gathering to agriculture was accompanied by a reification of female sexuality that turned the reproductive capacity of women into a form of property to be controlled and traded by men, and that this domination of women provided the template for the establishment of first slavery and then the class system, making it the essential basis for all subsequent social organization - is coherently and persuasively argued; and her accounts of the ways in which the key texts of Western civilization - principally the Old Testament and the works of Aristotle - enable and validate the patriarchy by constructing the matrix of symbols that give it power, guarantee that I will never read these works in the same way again.
What struck me most as I read the book, however, was how little the fundamentals of patriarchy have changed over the millennia. Consider, for example, her description of societies that "develop patriarchal monogamous marriages, homogamy, strong emphasis on premarital charity, and a high degree of societal control over the sexual behavior of women." Lerner is writing about ancient Mesopotamia, but the description applies to dozens of states in the US ca. 2013. In that sense, The Creation of Patriarchy is both a profound account of the historical roots of the institution and a outraged testament to the causes of its enduring power.
My only regret is that it took me this long to discover Lerner's work.
Me ha gustado much铆simo y me entristece que esta historiadora no sea m谩s conocida. Muri贸 en 2013 y creo que pas贸 bastante sin pena ni gloria. A pesar de que este libro en particular pueda parecer muy acad茅mico, yo lo he encontrado muy asequible y pedag贸gico. Un gran descubrimiento en mi incursi贸n autodidacta en lecturas feministas, que descubr铆 gracias a un grupo de 欧宝娱乐. Llevo pocas lecturas de esta tem谩tica, nada planificadas e intercaladas con otro tipo de lecturas, pero las estoy disfrutando todas much铆simo. Me quedo con las ganas de la segunda parte de este estudio que desgraciadamente no se ha traducido al castellano: The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy y que intentar茅 leer en ingl茅s. "La creaci贸n del patriarcado" me ha dado mucho en lo que pensar y seguramente volver茅 a 茅l de vez en cuando. Lo tengo muy subrayado. Si alguien me quiere aconsejar m谩s libros feministas, las sugerencias ser谩n bienvenidas.
鈥� Men accept cultural changes bu which they have freed themselves from biological necessity: labor of machine considered progress - only women in their view doomed forever to species-service through their biology鈥�.
鈥� To claim that of all of human activities only female nurturance is unchanging and external is indeed to consign half of the human race to a lower state of existence to nature rather than culture鈥�.
鈥� It should be obvious that aggressiveness of males, which may have been highly functional in the Stone Age is threatening human survival in the nuclear age鈥�.
鈥� At a time overpopulation and exhaustion of natural resources represent a real danger for human survival, to curb women鈥檚 procreation capacity may be more 鈥渁daptive鈥� than to foster them鈥�.
A Cria莽茫o do Patriarcado da Gerda Lerner 茅 um livro extremamente necess谩rio e que chegou ao Brasil com mais de tr锚s d茅cadas de atraso. Fruto de uma intensa pesquisa acad锚mica em torno das sociedades da antiguidade, delineia como a opress茫o de g锚nero 茅 a raiz principal de todas as demais opress玫es humanas que surgiram posteriormente. Fica evidente que nos prim贸rdios da socializa莽茫o humana os pap茅is de g锚nero eram igualit谩rios, homens e mulheres conviviam de igual para igual, mas aos poucos as coisas foram mudando, as mulheres come莽aram a servir de esp贸lio de guerra como escravas, os mitos refletindo essas mudan莽as, as formas de domina莽茫o ficaram mais sofisticadas e o aniquilamento total da mulher se deu primeiro na Mesopot芒mia, depois na Gr茅cia e todo filamento judaico crist茫o que nos vilipendia at茅 hoje.
Great book. I learned a lot about how men came to rule the world. and that the origin of slavery begins with the subjegagtion of women.
Unfortunately, Lerner is not an anti-civilizationist as I am, and she give a few apologies for civilization as she explains her history of the creation of patriarchy, even though she repeatedly acknoledgs that the creations of civilization (or I would say, the subjegation of nature) is the beginnings of the patriarchal power structure.
This seems like a pretty good history of patriarchy. I can't argue with most of the facts presented (women sold into slavery, turned out of their homes after being raped, stoned, children considered property of their fathers instead of mothers, basically the fact that women have been oppressed for as long as recorded history). I read several chapters in this book, including the last which summarizes the book, and I think I get the point. My problems with it are mostly threefold:
1. Some of the science is sketchy, especially when dealing with primitive cultures. Lerner admits that the few artifacts we have don't give us a picture of the social structure of primitive peoples, but that doesn't stop her from speculating about it.
2. This book is depressing. It should be, it about how women have been oppressed and abused for thousands of years. But this, more than anything, made me stop reading. I can't really handle it.
3. I have a religious objection that many of you may not have. I didn't appreciate her false characterization of the Christian belief in patriarchy as a belief that women are inferior to men. I know that it has played out that way in the minds and lives of many (maybe even most) Christians, and I don't want to defend them. But I have experienced a Christianity where I feel that women and men are different, but equal. I haven't felt like people thought I was worth less than my brothers or husband. So I am torn. I know how naive it sounds, saying that it is possible to have patriarchy without oppression, but I think it is possible and even preferable.
So there it is. I would like to finish this book someday, when I have enough time to read it quickly and only be depressed for a day, instead of several weeks. For now I will mull over what I have already read and try to figure out what to do with this information.
As a student of women's studies and history this is exactly the book I would have wanted to write. Women's lack of knowledge of our own history of struggle and achievement has been one of the major means of keeping us subordinate. Women's history is absolutely essential to the emancipation of women. In this book, Lerner goes back in time to look at the conditions responsible for the creation, and later dominance, of patriarchy. A process manifested in changes in kinship organization, economic relations, the establishment of religious and state bureaucracies and in the shift in cosmogonies expressing the ascendancy of male god figures. The period of "establishment of patriarchy" was not one event, but a process developing over a period of several thousand years and at different times in several distinct societies. Well researched, accessible, a must read for any feminist, historian or student of politics.
Read 10 or 15 years ago, this is a very scholarly treatment of how male dominance and female subservience are determined not by biology, but by social development.
10/10. Tiven clases na Universidade nas que aprend铆n menos que con este libro, que ofrece unha explicaci贸n clar铆sima e moi completa sobre as orixes do patriarcado nos Estados Arcaicos. Deber铆a ser lectura obrigatoria isto.
The Creation of Patriarchy is a thesis discussing the historical origins, and potentially necessary factors for the development of patriarchal (or what I prefer to call androcratic) societies 鈥� in the West at least.
And I thoroughly enjoyed it! Gerda Lerner's treatise had a satisfying amount of depth; her analysis displayed a delightful level of nuance and intellectual rigour, and specificity. I loved the fact she clearly stated her thesis, as a historian, was primarily aimed at giving a plausible explanation for the emergence of patriarchy in the Fertile Crescent, then the South of Europe (eventually leading to what we call 'Western Civilisation'), by specifically analysing the Mesopotamian and Hebraic archaeological and written records... and not at providing a universal explanation for the emergence of all of the world's patriarchal societies.
That being said, she also did her best to discuss a variety of factors, from the ecological and economical, to the socio- and psychological (and I also loved her speculative boldness there!) which, in combination and over time, might've progressively made it possible for institutionalised patriarchy, and more specifically the patriarchal state, to emerge during the Neolithic period.
Mention of other cultural groups, in other parts of the world 鈥� such as Asia and South America 鈥� is also made in key places, to point to parallels between the patterns she demonstrates in the emergence of patriarchy in ancient Mesopotamia, and those which can be observed in the rest of the world (without, once again, claiming her thesis can necessarily be applied, wholesale, universally).
I loved the fact she provided the reader with a pretty in-depth discussion of the definitions she chose to use in her book. I loved the fact she established a clear and precise distinction between sex and gender, and the fact she made a solidly convincing case for sex-based oppression (or subjugation as she preferentially termed it) being the original, ur-axis of oppression 鈥� which is incidentally what I've always believed, but here actual arguments, based in material history, were provided by Ms Lerner.
I thoroughly enjoyed her rigorous, no bullshit but compassionate tone: women, as a class, have been 'done dirty' by men as a class, for thousands of years, but it is undeniable one of the big reasons patriarchy/androcracy, as a system, has lasted this long is because women have participated in its perpetuation 鈥� with varying degrees of willingness of course. This is also, incidentally, where intersectional analysis (actual intersectional analysis, to be clear) becomes useful as a tool to demonstrate the intricacies embedded in history's larger patterns.
Finally, and this came as a pleasant surprise: I really enjoyed Lerner's prose. This is not something I usually pay too much attention to when it comes to non-fiction, but here it actually stood out to me, in a positive fashion.
Yes, this work dates back to the 1980s, and is a little dated in some places. But honestly, given the things I've read, or watched, over more recent years, I would confidently state Gerda Lerner's book remains relevant today. And I would thus very highly recommend it to readers interested in this specific topic.
隆Que libro! Aunque deber铆a decir que "La creaci贸n del patriarcado" es m谩s bien un Ep铆logo de 20 p谩ginas precedido por 320 p谩ginas 鈥揷u谩l m谩s importante鈥� con la presentaci贸n de motivos y la recopilaci贸n de evidencias hist贸ricas y textuales que hacen a las conclusiones de ese Ep铆logo 隆sencillamente inevitables!.
Si son del tipo de personas a las que les gusta leer un libro con calma, tal vez a lo largo de meses o incluso a帽os, y que por la misma raz贸n piensan dos veces antes de comenzar con un nuevo texto, les recomendar铆a que antes de comenzar con "La creaci贸n del patriarcado" se dirigieran inmediatamente al ep铆logo, y despu茅s leyeran con paciencia y tiempo el resto del libro.
Como su nombre promete, este libro describe el origen o creaci贸n del patriarcado 鈥揳qu铆 es muy importante la elecci贸n del sustantivo para distinguir lo que es "natural" de lo que es simplemente producto de la historia鈥�,听especialmente durante el surgimiento de los estados nacionales y las grandes religiones en el oriente pr贸ximo, Mesopotamia en su mayor parte, Siria, donde se desarrollo la historia de los influyentes pueblos de Judea e Israel y en menor medida en la Grecia cl谩sica.
Para hacerlo, su autora, la historiadora Gerda Lerner, nos expone a citas, personajes, mitos, libros y en general a diversa evidencia historiogr谩fica, filol贸gica y arqueol贸gica que cubre m谩s de 6 500 a帽os de historia (entre el 7 000 y el 300 aec.); evidencias en las que quedaron impresas, como lo demuestra su rigurosa y exhaustiva revisi贸n, las huellas de los eventos que dieron forma al sistema patriarcal que ha dominado, y domina todav铆a, casi todas las culturas y pueblos de la Tierra.
Aunque se concentra en el oriente pr贸ximo, una que otra referencia a lo acaecido en China, la India, Mesoam茅rica y Suram茅rica, hacen de este viaje a los or铆genes del patriarcado, una verdadera 鈥搚 perturbadora鈥� experiencia mundial.
La verdad, esperaba que el libro abarcara tambi茅n per铆odos de tiempo m谩s "recientes", la edad media o la modernidad, en los que, como he le铆do en otros textos, ocurrieron tambi茅n eventos sobresalientes en la historia de la subordinaci贸n, dominaci贸n, esclavitud y violencia contra las mujeres; en alg煤n punto del libro me sent铆 incluso un poco decepcionado por el alcance limitado en el tiempo; en otros tambi茅n me sent铆 un poco saturado por el exceso de detalles en el an谩lisis de textos Sumerios, Acadios y Babil贸nicos. A la larga sin embargo termine apreciando 鈥揼racias a los mismos argumentos de la autora鈥� que este libro le apuntar谩 justamente a esos primeros eventos hist贸ricos, por un lado porque comprend铆 que las razones para expandirse en el an谩lisis detallado de las fuentes es que esta es justamente la manera en la que se construye un texto de Historia riguroso; y por el otro, porque el an谩lisis de lo acaecido en 茅pocas m谩s recientes lo dejo su autora para una segunda parte.
隆Segunda parte que ya encontramos y leeremos a la mayor brevedad!
Lo digo en plural porque le铆 el libro despu茅s de la recomendaci贸n que me hizo Olga Penagos, mi esposa y compa帽era de aventuras intelectuales, con la que comparto la pasi贸n por la lectura de textos feministas (lean aqu铆 su rese帽a de este mismo texto).
Todo esto es para decir que tengan paciencia en los apartes m谩s pesados del libro. 隆No se arrepentir谩n!
El libro est谩 muy bien escrito, es claro y la redacci贸n no es muy t茅cnica, ni muy pesada para alguien que, como yo, no este familiarizado con la literatura acad茅mica en el 谩rea. Los pies de p谩gina si son abundantes y bastante t茅cnicos, pero las personas menos pacientes tal vez puedan obviarlos.
Me encanto el recurso que usa la autora en los 煤ltimos p谩rrafos de cada cap铆tulo y en los que hace un resumen muy bien escrito de lo presentado en el cap铆tulo; incluso me atrever铆a a decir que esta podr铆a ser una estrategia para hacer un primer recorrido por el libro: leer las 煤ltimas p谩ginas de cada uno de los 10 cap铆tulos y, sin falta, leer entero el Ep铆logo (隆lo mejor de este libro!).
No puedo terminar est谩 rese帽a 鈥搕al vez deber铆a haber empezado por ah铆鈥撎齭in comentar el impacto que la lectura del libro me ha causado.
Como coment茅 antes, desde hace un tiempo vengo leyendo textos de feminismos y compartiendo apasionadamente con Olga nuestras impresiones. Para los dos todos estos libros han representado una fuente de abundantes 鈥搚 perturbadores鈥撎齞escubrimientos, aunque para ella lo ha sido a煤n m谩s sin duda alguna por ver confirmadas sus intuiciones y experiencias como mujer.
Como hombre 鈥揾eterosexual, "blanco", empleado, con educaci贸n universitaria, sin discapacidades f铆sicas, etc.鈥� es dif铆cil reconocer y aceptar sin resistencias 鈥揷onscientes e inconscientes鈥�, las evidencias que autoras como la profesora Lerner recogen en sus libros sobre el status que ha tenido y sigue teniendo la mujer en todas las sociedades del planeta y la historia de violencias, injusticia y esclavitud que han sufrido en casi 5 000 a帽os de patriarcado. Es dif铆cil porque, personalmente, estoy del lado incorrecto de esa historia, del lado del machismo 鈥揹el que he participado activamente鈥撎齞el lado del privilegio y de qui茅nes dominamos y hemos explotado o nos hemos apoyado para conseguir lo que tenemos, y sin reconocer apropiadamente, en el trabajo sexual y de cuidado de las mujeres, Olga incluida.
A煤n as铆, tendr铆a que ser de palo 鈥揷omo decimos en mi tierra鈥撎齪ara, despu茅s de una resistencia intelectual infructuosa, negarme al peso de las evidencias hist贸ricas, de los argumentos brillantemente hilvanados o a la valent铆a del llamado que hacen estas grandes autoras para revolcar el mundo. Como lo he dicho en otras rese帽as, no puedo convertirme leyendo estos libros en feminista (tampoco puedo ser Nepal铆 as铆 me oponga a la colonizaci贸n China), pero creo que leyendo estos libros puedo hacer un esfuerzo para usar mis privilegios para divulgar las ideas que se exponen en ellos.
Voy a decirlo as铆: qui茅n tenga un m铆nimo sentido de la justicia, no puede dejar de ser feminista o si su posici贸n no se lo permite 鈥揷omo es mi caso鈥撎齨o puede evitar apoyar el feminismo.
隆Lean ya el Ep铆logo de "La creaci贸n del patriarcado"! (y si les alcanza, el resto del libro).
El libro que todas las mujeres deber铆amos leer. El desconocimiento de nuestra propia historia, de nuestra genealog铆a, nos impide imaginar y teorizar alternativas a la estructura patriarcal de nuestra sociedad. Es necesario conocer nuestra historia para salir de nuestra subordinaci贸n.
Call me an angry, man-hating, queer little girl, but I loved this book.
There's so much, too much, to be said about this book and its contents. I'm definitely going to buy a copy to re-read and annotate.
The Creation of The Patriarchy challenges the way we think; it defines and describes a system put in place. She urges women to look in our history to truly understand and demolish a system meant to subordinate us.
Gerda Lerner is articulate and powerful in her writing. Every statement is backed by pages of evidence; every thought is meticulously plotted out and described. She draws parallels, comparisons, and associations I never would think of. From class distinction to capitalism and private property to men's dominance over animals to the Bible, she hits it all and blows me away. Lerner is want I wanna be when I grow up: a smart, feminist, well-spoken professer and writer.
What really stuck with me was Lerner's discussion on the use of sexual dominance by men over women. It's something that was true from the Neolithic period to even today. Like, it's something I think about so often, I've even developed my own theories on why men are so controlling over women's bodies, but I'll save that for another day. Nevertheless, it's so interesting to see the growth of patriarchly ideals from beginning stages to now and still how prevalent it is today. Women are still having their own sexual and reproductive rights debated and outlawed, and it's so insane to read about the origins and how the passage of time didn't change that.
I think everyone should read this book. No matter age, gender, ideals, race, etc.. It lays the groundwork of a heavily discussed topic and provokes so much thought I believe is vital to conversations regarding (how Lerner puts it) "the subordination of women."
There's so much more to unpack, but I unfortunately don't have time; I've got patriarchy to destroy.
I have long wondered how it is that half the world's population can be oppressed/repressed/suppressed, with some variations with respect to societal norms and religion, but with remarkable consistency and, apparently, women's own (to me, inexplicable) compliance, if not active complicity. I've wondered where the roots of such disparity in power and authority lie and if they're biological or historical, not least because they seem universal and reified while being wholly counterintuitive (bad not just for women, but for society as a whole).
Gerda Lerner's book offers a deeply satisfying overview of the myriad theories that have been proposed to explain this dynamic, the critiques that have been put forth, and the research that's been done to test both. She offers her own compelling explanation (52): "The story of civilization is the story of men and women struggling up from necessity, from their helpless dependence on nature, to freedom and their partial mastery over nature. In this struggle, women were longer confined to species-essential activities [baby-making and raising] than men and were therefore more vulnerable to being disadvantaged. My argument sharply distinguishes between biological necessity, to which both men and women submitted and adapted, and culturally constructed norms and institutions, which forced women into subordinate roles. I have tried to show how it might have come to pass that women agreed to a sexual division of labor, which would eventually disadvantage them, without having been able to foresee the later consequences."
Lerner explains how the commodification of baby-making became the commodification and objectification of women, over a period of 2500 years. She continues (214): "The first gender-defined social role for women was to be those who were exchanged in marriage transactions. The obverse gender role for men was to be those who did the exchanging or who defined the terms of the exchanges." And, "The gender-defined role of warrior led men to acquire power over men and women of conquered tribes. Such war-induced conquest usually occurred over people already differentiated from the victors by race, ethnicity, or simple tribal difference. In its ultimate origin, 'difference' as a distinguishing mark between the conquered and the conquerors was based on the first clearly observable difference, that between the sexes. Men had learned how to assert and exercise power over people slightly different from themselves in the primary exchange of women. In so doing, men acquired the knowledge necessary to elevate 'difference' of whatever kind into a criterion for dominance."
Lerner then walks us through gender-specific exploitation in slavery, colonialism, and the class system, at every level of which women had (215) "vastly different obligations and privileges in regard to property, law, and economic resources," but "shared the unfreedom of being sexually and reproductively controlled by men. We can best express the complexity of women's various levels of dependency and freedom by comparing each woman with her brother and considering how the sister's and brother's lives and opportunities would differ. ...For women, class is mediated through their sexual ties to a man. It is through the man that women have access to or are denied access to the means of production and to resources. It is through their sexual behavior that they gain access to class." Along come concepts of respectability, family honor, chastity, purity, etc., with an assumption, of course, of sexual responsibility to a specified and socially-acceptable male provider (husband), all used to determine whether women are "worthy" of the men who may choose to provide for them. She continues (216): "From the second millennium B.C. forward control over the sexual behavior of citizens has been a major means of social control in every state society. Conversely, class hierarchy is constantly reconstituted in the family through sexual dominance. Regardless of the political or economic system, the kind of personality which can function in a hierarchical system is created and nurtured within the patriarchal family." And, moreover, (217): "The family not only mirrors the order int he state and educates its children to follow it, it also creates and constantly reinforces that order."
There's much more of value in the book, but the key part for me is (217): "The system of patriarchy can function only with the cooperation of women. This cooperation is secured by a variety of means: gender indoctrination [have you measured your value by your looks today?]; educational deprivation; the denial to women of knowledge of their history; the dividing of women, one from the other, by defining 'respectability' and 'deviance' according to women's sexual activities [have you commented on the length of a woman's skirt, used the term slut or ho, or even more passively judged a woman for her sexual behavior or presentation?]; by restraints and outright coercion; by discrimination in access to economic resources and political power; and by awarding class privileges to conforming women."
Lerner also offers some insights into intersectionality not unlike those in recent books about poor whites being coopted to support rich whites through an inculcated disdain for blacks. She writes (218): "For woman, other than those of the lower classes, the 'reciprocal agreement' went like this: in exchange for your sexual, economic, political, and intellectual subordination to men you may share the power of men of your class to exploit men and women of the lower class. In class society it is difficult for people who themselves have some power, however limited and circumscribed, to see themselves also as deprived and subordinated. Class and racial privileges serve to undercut the ability of women to see themselves as part of a coherent group, which, in fact, they are not, since women uniquely of all oppressed groups occur in all strata of the society."
Lerner explains that women need to overcome their own marginalization in the telling of history and place themselves back in human society and the universe; they must overcome indoctrination, educate themselves, recognize alternatives to existing conditions, and understand their self-worth, rejecting societal/male efforts to trivialize and marginalize their ways of thinking, interacting, and contributing. Lerner concludes (229): "As long as both men and women regard the subordination of half the human race to the other as 'natural,' it is impossible to envision a society in which differences to not connote either dominance or subordination. The feminist critique of the patriarchal edifice of knowledge is laying the groundwork for a correct analysis of reality, one which at the very least can distinguish the whole from a part."