Gender segregation

In hunter-gatherer societies most of the hunting is done by men and most of the gathering by women. When the selection and planting of seeds and tubers began, it seems logical that it would have been a woman’s task, while men were off hunting and fishing. And it would follow that the ownership of gardens and fields was transmitted from mother to daughter, along with the knowhow. When the selection and breeding of animals began, it seems logical that it would have been a man’s task, while women continued gathering. And it would follow that the ownership of the herds was transmitted from father to son, along with the knowhow. The primitive division of labour developed into two separate and contradictory cultures. So when the herdsmen conquered the planters, matriarchal and patriarchal property and its transmission came into conflict. The French economist and historian Emile Mireaux saw a survival of this in the Homeric poems and the roles played by Helen and Penelope, who are queens with prince consort husbands. Mireaux also considered the Oedipus myth to be a cautionary tale, about how difficult it was for a son to inherit his father’s crown, when royalty was transmitted from mother to daughter. He had to kill his father and marry his mother. This could be assuaged by marrying his sister, which was practised for a while by Egyptian sovereigns. Matrilineal societies disappeared a long time ago, with a few last leg survivors such as the Trobrianders studied by Malinowski. If wealth was power and power was might, then men held it by right, not as a woman’s consort having to fight off contenders. And to insure their paternity they locked up their wives.

Male dominated societies can only exist when physical strength is all important. That is no longer the case, even on the battlefield. In fact the only activity where strength separates men from women is sport. And the ideological significance of sport helps to maintain the distinction in gender capabilities. Machines have cancelled the muscular differences between men and women, whereas sports segregate them completely. It seems unlikely that gender equality can progress further, as long as absolute sexual inequality is publicised on playing-fields around the world.