Sonja gives a tour de force presentation of Patriarchy's beginnings:  when, why, how, and what it replaced.  Was there Matriarchy before Patriarchy?  Sonja explains.  Why did humans go from one central Mother Goddess to a male god at the center of the pantheon of gods?  Sonja explains.  Is Patriarchy just how it is, or can it evolve into a less male-beneficial system?  Sonja explains!  In this detailed but very accessible historical explanation, you'll come away with a greater understanding of why both men and women in early civilizations morphed from more equal hunter-gatherer societies to sedentary patriarchal civilizations.  By the end of the episode, Sonja and Vanessa challenge the claim that Patriarchy is "natural," contending instead that it's actually just a fiction, a story...and as is the way with storytelling, can't we--both women and men--rewrite our story with a plot that puts all humans on more equal footing? Join us for this insightful historical overview that kicks off Season 2 of In Walks a Woman:  The Mother Goddess.

Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy