The Patriarchs (The origins of inequality) by Angela Saini ***

The Patriarch by Angela Saini explores the history of patriarchy (misogyny and subjugation of women) from 7400 BCE to the present. She asks two questions. First is there a biological basis for patriarchy (Is it inevitable)? Second, what is the cause of patriarchy (Is it inevitable)? Her first answer is a resounding, No! To quote, Betty Hutton in Annie Get Your Gun, “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.” Unfortunately, the second question is unanswered. Contemporary history does not recognize universal progressions but sees each society or culture as unique. Regardless, the author shows that each society or culture returns to patriarchy. I found this disconcerting, depressing, and frightening.

The book opens with, and often returns to, Çatalhöyük in Southern Anatolia, sometimes described as the first city in the world—before Harappans, Sumerians, Skara Brae, Stonehenge, pyramids, and Olmecs, but not predating the Yang-Shao. I suspect that the reason for passing over the Yang-Shao is that this book is distinctly Eurocentric. Çatalhöyük is an interesting place to start because all the evidence suggests that it was gender-blind. There were no distinctions between men and women. The author teases us with the thought that we might find the genesis of patriarchy. We never do.

This pattern is repeated throughout the book. The author finds a society/culture where there is equality (Çatalhöyük, Minoans, Sparta, Soviet Union, Tehran in 1976, United States before 2016) and attempts to explain how the patriarchy returned. By my reading, she is never successful.

It is a shame that patriarchy can’t be blamed on a fundamental (biological) difference between men and women, because history shows it reappearing repeatedly. If patriarchy is not innate, why does it continue?

P.S. The book tends to repeat itself. Regularly throughout my reading, I found myself wishing for a good editor.

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