Angela Saini - Patriarchy and the Roots of Gendered Oppression

What is 'patriarchy' and where do its origins lie? How did it become embedded in societies from prehistory to the present? What part do we all play in maintaining patriarchal structures, and can they be dismantled? These are some of the pressing questions we discuss in this episode with Angela Saini, author of a fascinating new book 'The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule' (Harper Collins): https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-patriarchs-how-men-came-to-rule-angela-saini?variant=39997855268942

Angela is an award-winning British journalist, currently based in New York. She teaches science writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presents radio and television programmes, and has written for National Geographic, the Financial Times, and Wired. In 2022 she was a Logan Nonfiction Program fellow, and a fellow of the Humboldt Residency Programme in Berlin. 'The Patriarchs' follows on from her earlier books, the critically acclaimed 'Superior: The Return of Race Science' and 'Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong'.

• Website: https://www.angelasaini.co.uk
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/angeladsaini/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelasaini/

We cover the following topics in this episode:

• Defining 'patriarchy' (01:01-02:32)
• 'The Patriarchs' as a title (02:32-03:51)
• 'Patriarchy' as a system (03:51-05:21)
• Motivations for writing the book (05:21-06:46)
• Animals and 'natural' male domination (06:46-10:32)
• Angela's journey exploring gender diversity in how people live (10:32-12:01)
• Matrilineal societies and why they are important (12:01-15:07)
• European colonialism and the imposition of patriarchal norms (15:07-16:08)
• The 1848 Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention and pre-existing Native American societies (16:08-20:14)
• Weighing archaeological, anthropological and ancient DNA evidence – the work of Marija Gimbutas (20:14-27:50)
• Colonial and patriarchal justifications for inequality, e.g. in Athens (27:50-33:43)
• Rise of the first states: organising around birth rates and defence (33:43-38:37)
• Putin's Russia as a model of the patriarchal state (38:37-40:54)
• Complexities of women and men supporting or resisting patriarchy (40:54-42:26)
• Shifting and reframing ‘patriarchies’ over time, e.g. Afghanistan (42:26-45:37)
• Hanging onto a positive vision of a radically different world, e.g. Iran (45:37-47:47)
• Explaining social behaviour and social change beyond biology (47:47-50:01)
• Angela's current and future projects (50:01-52:55)
• Conclusion (52:55-58:43)

References:

• Marija Gimbutas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marija_Gimbutas
• Ian Hodder: http://www.ian-hodder.com/
• Gerda Lerner - ‘The Creation of Patriarchy’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Patriarchy
• James Scott: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Scott
• Bob Pease - 'Facing Patriarchy': https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350220027

Reviews of 'The Patriarchs':

• Alex von Tunzelmann: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/08/the-patriarchs-by-angela-saini-review-the-roots-of-male-domination
• Natasha Walter: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/19/the-patriarchs-by-angela-saini-review-why-its-still-a-mans-world