Matriarchy

Definition of Matriarchy

The Canada social science dictionary [1] provides the following meaning of Matriarchy: A society or family in which women possess most of the power and authority. While there is some dispute among social scientists, there is no clear evidence of matriarchal societies existing in the world in either the past or the present. Individual families, however, have frequently exhibited matriarchal structure with women clearly possessing dominant authority and control. The term must be distinguished from matrilineal which refers to the system of tracing descent through the blood lines of women and which exists in a number of world societies. See: MATRILINEAL SOCIETIES in this legal dictionary and in the world encyclopedia of law.

Matriarchy: Resources

Notes and References

• Drislane, R., & Parkinson, G. (2016). (Concept of) Matriarchy. Online dictionary of the social sciences. Open University of Canada