Matriarchy

A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers,

have the central roles of political leadership, 

moral authority, and

control of property.

It is also sometimes called a gynocracy, agynecocracy or a gynocentric society. The male equivalent is a patriarchy.

Matristic

Feminist scholars and archeologists such as Marija Gimbutas, Gerda Lerner, and Riane Eisler^[44] describe their notion of a "woman-centered" society surrounding Mother Goddess worship throughout prehistory (Paleolithic and Neolithic Europe) and ancient civilizations, by using the term matristic rather than matriarchal.

Most anthropologists hold that there are no known societies that are unambiguously matriarchal

,^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} but possible exceptions include the Iroquois, in whose society mothers exercise central moral and political roles.^[7] However, this reluctance to accept the existence of matriarchies might be based on a specific, culturally biased notion of how to define 'matriarchy': because in a patriarchy 'men rule over women', a matriarchy has frequently been conceptualized as 'women ruling over men', whereas in reality women-centered societies are - apparently without exception - egalitarian.^[8][9]

There are also matrilinear, matrilocal, and avunculocal societies, especially among indigenous peoples ofAsia and Africa,^[10] such as those of the Minangkabau, E De (Rhade), Mosuo, Berbers and Tuareg and, inEurope, e.g., Sardinian people.^[11][12]

Strongly matrilocal societies sometimes are referred to as matrifocal, and there is some debate concerning the terminological delineation between matrifocality and matriarchy. Even in patriarchical systems of 

male-preference primogeniture, there may occasionally be queens regnant.

In 19th century Western scholarship, the hypothesis of matriarchy representing an early stage of human development—now mostly lost in prehistory, with the exception of some so-called primitive societies—enjoyed popularity. The hypothesis survived into the 20th century and was notably advanced in the context of feminism and especially second wave feminism, but this hypothesis of matriarchy as having been an early stage of human development is mostly discredited today, most experts saying that it never existed.^[13]

Barbara Love and Elizabeth Shanklin respond to this criticism in "The Answer is Matriarchy":

When we hear the word 'matriarchy', we are conditioned to a number of responses: that matriarchy refers to the past and that matriarchies have never existed; that matriarchy is a hopeless fantasy of female domination, of mothers dominating children, of women being cruel to men. Conditioning us negatively to matriarchy is, of course, in the interests of patriarchs. We are made to feel that patriarchy is natural; we are less likely to question it, and less likely to direct our energies to ending it."^[14]