Men Benefit When Women Run the Show

Men in a Matriarchal Society

We've all imagined what life would be like in an alternate universe before. But once a while we're actually given a glimpse. That's what this interview in Der Spiegel did for me. Though I'm aware we live in a patriarchal society, the term has never really had any meaning for me. If you can't fathom an alternative, you take the assigned term for granted. But what would life be like in a matriarchal society, where the hierarchy of gender relations is reversed.

According to Richard Coler, it isn't like that at all. The Argentinian writer shared his experiences from a recent stay with the Mosuo people of China, who live in a matriarchal society. What is it like when women run the show?

Women have a different way of dominating. When women rule, it's part of their work. They like it when everything functions and the family is doing well. Amassing wealth or earning lots of money doesn't cross their minds. Capital accumulation seems to be a male thing. It's not for nothing that popular wisdom says that the difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys.

How do men fare in a society where they are put in a subordinate position?

Men live better where women are in charge: you are responsible for almost nothing, you work much less and you spend the whole day with your friends. You're with a different woman every night. And on top of that, you can always live at your mother's house...Where a woman's dominant position is secure, those kinds of archaic gender roles don't have any meaning.

On what stood out most to him, Coler said:

...there is no violence in a matriarchal society. I know that quickly slips into idealization -- every human society has its problems. But it simply doesn't make sense to the Mosuo women to solve conflicts with violence. Because they are in charge, nobody fights. They don't know feelings of guilt or vengeance -- it is simply shameful to fight. They are ashamed if they do and it even can threaten their social standing.

Sounds like a utopia for both men and women...



Also, I suggest checking out this superb piece from Journeyman Pictures on Mosuo society, the only one of its kind in the world.