Hypergamy Is a Function of Patriarchy

It’s neither intrinsic nor evolutionary

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Many people seem to be under the impression that the world has always been as it is today, all except for the modern conveniences. Maybe we should blame The Flintstones for that, or the people who want to justify patriarchy by pretending it’s natural and has always existed. But none of this could be further from the truth.

For 97% of human history, we lived in small mobile bands of foragers who took care of each other as one of their primary survival strategies — including trade and cooperation with neighboring bands. No stationary villages or settlements until about 10k years ago, no chiefs or “big men” as permanent leaders, and no systems of status or hierarchy until really about 5 or 6k years ago when the social system of patriarchy first began to appear.

Patriarchy Isn’t a Synonym for Men

Patriarchy in this context refers to a social system with implications beyond just a gendered disparity in power and privilege. It also references a whole system of social stratification and hierarchy maintained by coercion, domination, and…