"Unpacking myths around the way gendered oppression has been examined, this presents a powerfully refreshing global history of patriarchy."
With an anthropological eye, Angela Saini’s The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule is an eye-opening triumph. Blending scholarly rigour with writerly flair, it’s an essential read for anyone interested in big history, human nature, equality and freedom.
In her introduction, Saini states that, “People have long struggled to understand the patriarchy” i.e. the question of how men came to have power has not been answered. This is, in part, as the author argues, because gendered oppression is often regarded differently from other forms of oppression, such as class oppression. All too often arguments revert to essentialism; many still posit the view that patriarchy is somehow inevitable. For context, the author provides examples of matriliny, and exposes the bias inherent in the “matrilineal puzzle”, as it’s known in academic circles i.e. academics seek to explain why matriliny arose in certain societies, while patriliny “is seen to need no explanation at all. It just is.”
In this clearly unsatisfactory situation, The Patriarchs unpacks the history of patriarchy, tracing it back to its prehistoric roots to reveal how male power took pervasive hold in certain societies through time, and across the globe. And all this is underpinned by a call to rethink our institutions, and abandon the idea that the “social patterns we follow must be natural or divine, rather than manmade”. Mighty in scope and delivery, this is a tremendous, transformative work.
| Primary Genre | History |
| Other Genres: |
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023
A WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR FOR POLITICS 2023
'I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book' Sathnam Sanghera
'By thinking about gendered inequality as rooted in something unalterable within us, we fail to see it for what it is: something more fragile that has had to be constantly remade and reasserted.'
In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe from prehistory into the present.
Travelling to the world's earliest known human settlements, analysing the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and tracing cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia, she overturns simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far it goes back really depends on where you are.
Despite the push back against sexism and exploitation in our own time, even revolutionary efforts to bring about equality have often ended in failure and backlash. Saini ends by asking what part we all play - women included - in keeping patriarchal structures alive, and why we need to look beyond the old narratives to understand why it persists in the present.
The Patriarchs features in the following genres: History, Feminism and feminist theory, Social and cultural history, Slavery and abolition of slavery, Social and cultural anthropology, Sex and sexuality, social aspects, History and Archaeology, Gender studies: women and girls, Gender studies, gender groups, Social groups, communities and identities, Society and culture: general, Society and Social Sciences, History: specific events and topics, Anthropology, Sociology and anthropology, Social and ethical issues
The Patriarchs is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Patriarchs was written by Angela Saini and published by 4th Estate an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
The Patriarchs has 320 pages
£9.89
