The Real-Life Land With No Husbands and No Fathers
Not all modern cultures are patriarchal; not all socialization is the same
Some people seem to be under the impression that life around the world has largely always been pretty much as it is now, just without modern conveniences. They believe that men in all cultures have always had the most political and economic power, been the head of the household, the scions of their family line, and the upholders of business and industry. They imagine that women have always been second class citizens in all cultures, at least up until very recently when we’ve had some improvements in that department.
Besides the fact that patriarchy is really only about 10 thousand years old, and that many ancient cultures were egalitarian and matrilineal, there are cultures that exist in modern times which are not patriarchal societies. Most of these have distinct roles for men and women and in many instances, men do hold political power, although sometimes only with the support and consent of the women. But otherwise, there is a fair amount of balance between the sexes, and property, as well as family name, pass through the mothers in these cultures.
One of the most interesting of these is the Na (otherwise known as the Mosuo) of China, a small ethnic group of about 40,000 people who…
