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A review by thepurplebookwyrm
The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
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 – 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 – such as Asia and South America – 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 – 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 – 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.
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 – such as Asia and South America – 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 – 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 – 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.