The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won't Give Women a Future

Description

According to the myth of matriarchal prehistory, men and women lived together peacefully before recorded history. Society was centered around women, with their mysterious life-giving powers, and they were honored as incarnations and priestesses of the Great Goddess. Then a transformation occurred, and men thereafter dominated society. Given the universality of patriarchy in recorded history, this vision is understandably appealing for many women. But does it have any basis in fact? And as a myth, does it work for the good of women? Cynthia Eller traces the emergence of the feminist matriarchal myth, explicates its functions, and examines the evidence for and against a matriarchal prehistory. Finally, she explains why this vision of peaceful, woman-centered prehistory is something feminists should be wary of.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Similar books

• 

  EBOOK: The Stata Survival Manual

  By David Pevalin, Karen Robson

  Timberlake website Another useful website is www.timberlake.co.uk. Timberlake Consultants is a statistical consultancy company that also distributes and ...

• 

  Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Understanding Generalist Practice

  By Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, Grafton H. Hull

  Timberlake, E. M., Farber, M. Z., & Sabatino, C. A. (2002). The general method of social work practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Timberlake, E. M. ...

• 

  The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas

  By Karen Robinovitz, Melissa de la Cruz

  All Out of Love • Madonna: The Immaculate Collection • Erasure: Circus Justin Timberlake. Justified - - - - - - - - - - * 75% + T H E FAS H ...

• 

  Asian Americans Information Directory: A Guide to Organizations, Agencies, Institutions, Programs, Publications, and Services Concerned with Asian American Nationalities and...

  By Karen Backus

  + 3590 + Hmong from Laos c / o Assoc . of Hmong in Illinois 4554 N ... Veteran ' s Alliance 1544 Timberlake Rd . St . Paul , MN 55117 Vue Yang , Vice Pres .

• 

  Marriage and Cohabitation

  By Arland Thornton, William G. Axinn, Yu Xie

  ... is much higher than in the United States, with the prevalence in France being perhaps the highest (Heuveline and Timberlake 2004; Toulemon 1997).

• 

  Native American Verbal Art: Texts and Contexts

  By William M. Clements

  HENRY TIMBERLAKE'S CHEROKEE WAR SONG 1. That Timberlake's memoir contains the first English translation of the words of a Native American song seems to have ...

• 

  Oratory in Native North America

  By William M. Clements

  But Timberlake seems to have had a bit more literary sensitivity - suggested by his translation of the Cherokee war song in his memoirs - than these earlier ...

• 

  Contemporary Urban Sociology

  By William G. Flanagan

  Timberlake , Michael . 1985. " The World System Perspective and Urbanization . ” In Michael Timberlake ( ed . ) , Urbanization in the World Economy , 3-4 .

• 

  The Bhopal Tragedy: Language, Logic, And Politics In The Production Of A Hazard

  By William Bogard

  The poor tend to live in dwellings that are structurally unsuited to withstand the impact of environmental extremes (Wijkman and Timberlake 1984, pp.

• 

  The Archaeological Guide to Iowa

  By William E. Whittaker, Lynn M. Alex, Mary De La Garza

  To display and share his discoveries, in 1940 Johnson built the Timberlake Museum on his farm. It remained open to the public during the summer and for ...