Matriarchy - Definitions and Etymology

Definitions and Etymology

The word matriarchy is often interpreted to mean the opposite of patriarchy. It is from Greek matēr 'mother' and archein 'to rule'. Journalist Margot Adler wrote, "iterally, ... means government by mothers, or more broadly, government and power in the hands of women." "'Matriarchy' can be thought of ... as a shorthand description for any society in which women's power is equal or superior to men's and in which the culture centers around values and life events described as 'feminine.'" In the Marxist tradition, it usually refers to a pre-class society "where women and men share equally in production and power." Some consider the term as not being parallel to patriarchy, because it is not always defined in the same fashion differing only for gender.

Matriarchy is also the public formation in which the woman occupies the ruling position in a family (a primary cell of society). Matriarchy has even been found where a quarter of Black families in the United States were headed by single women; thus, families composing a substantial minority of a substantial minority could be enough for the latter to constitute a matriarchy within a larger non-matriarchal society (though many scholars would prefer the term "matrifocal" to "matriarchal"). In addition, some authors depart from the premise of a mother-child dyad as the core of a human group where the grandmother was the central ancestress with her children and grandchildren clustered around her in an extended family.

According to Adler, " number of feminists note that few definitions of the word, despite its literal meaning, include any concept of power, and they suggest that centuries of oppression have made it impossible for women to conceive of themselves with such power."

Etymologically, according to the OED, the word matriarchy is first attested in 1885, building on an earlier matriarch, formed in analogy to patriarch, already in use in the early 17th century. By contrast, gynæcocracy, meaning 'rule of women', has been in use since the 17th century, building on the Greek word γυναικοκρατία found in Aristotle and Plutarch.

The Matriarchal Studies school led by Heide Göttner-Abendroth calls for a more inclusive redefinition of the term: Göttner-Abendroth defines Modern Matriarchal Studies as the "investigation and presentation of non-patriarchal societies", effectively defining matriarchy as "non-patriarchy". She has also defined matriarchy as characterized by the sharing of power equally between the two genders. According to Diane LeBow, "atriarchal societies are often described as ... egalitarian ...", although anthropologist Ruby Rohrlich has written of "the centrality of women in an egalitarian society." Similarly, Peggy Reeves Sanday (2004) favors redefining and reintroducing the word matriarchy, especially in reference to contemporary matrilineal societies such as the Minangkabau.

In "The Answer is Matriarchy," Barbara Love and Elizabeth Shanklin, write, "Toward a Definition of Matriarchy, By 'matriarchy,' we mean a non-alienated society: a society in which women, those who produce the next generation, define motherhood, determine the conditions of motherhood, and determine the environment in which the next generation is reared."