Author: Peter Wright
*This
piece
looking
at
the
history
and
meaning
of
the
word
gynarchy
was
first
published
in
2013
–
Eds.
*
*
*
While
‘gynarchy’
is
a
relatively
unused
term,
most
by
now
would
have
heard
of
gynocentrism,
a
versatile
term
applied
to
literally
anything
we
consider
female
dominated,
from
cultural
institutions
to
gender
relations,
a
term
that
has
proven
a
useful
to
discussion
of
gender
issues.
Gynarchy,
more
specifically
than
gynocentrism,
refers
to
government
by
and
for
female
interests,
including
any
establishment
of
laws
and
bureaucracies
that
benefit
women.
As
you
will
see
below
it
has
also
been
described
in
earlier
times
as
“petticoat
government”
and
is
synonymous
with
what
is
commonly
referred
to
today
as
“feminist
governance.”
Gynarchy
has
a
long
literary
application
and
isn’t
a
neologism
requiring
introduction
into
the
language.
To
get
a
taste
of
its
value
let’s
look
at
some
of
the
historical
uses
of
gynarchy
(and
its
variants
gunarchy,
gunarchie,
gynæcocracy,
ginæcocratie,
gynecocracy,
gynocracy)
starting
in
the
16th
century:
1577:
The
gunarchie
of
Queene
Cordeilla.
[Holinshed
Chron.
I.
13/2]
1660:
That
in
Gynarchy
the
wife
is
not
subject,
but
superior
to
her
husband
[R.
Coke
Power
&
Subj.]
1737:
Gynæcocracy
is
feminine
rule;
petticoat
government
[Universal
English
Dictionary]
1755:
Gynæcocracy:
petticoat
government;
female
power
[Dictionary
English
Language]
1758:
I
have
always
some
hopes
of
a
change
under
a
Gunarchy;
where
whim
and
humour
commonly
prevail.
[Chesterfield
Letter.
(1792)
IV.
cccl.
159]
1763:
Denotes
the
government
of
women,
or
a
state
where
women
are
capable
of
supreme
command.
Such
are
Britain
and
Spain.
[Dictionary
Of
Arts
&
Sciences]
1816:
In
the
fishing
villages
on
the
Firths
of
Forth
and
Tay?the
government
is
gynecocracy.
[Scott
Antiq.
xxvi.
Note]
1838:
[Under
gynocracy]
women
enjoy
a
greater
influence…
Mr.
Hoskins
says
they
seem
to
lord
it
over
their
husbands,
and
all
mercantile
transactions
are
confided
to
their
hands.
[Gentl.
Magazine]
1886:
That
social
gynæcocracy
for
which
France
is
famous.
[Temple
Bar
LXXVIII.
509]
1890:
So
will
you
best
help
to
maintain
the
true
gynarchy
[Blackw.
Mag.
CXLVII.
264/2]
1903:
The
government
of
the
American
people
is
not
a
Republic,
it
is
not
a
monarchy:
it
is
a
gynarchy,
a
government
by
the
women
for
the
women,
a
sort
of
occult
power
behind
the
scenes
that
rules
the
country.”
[Max
O’Rell
–
Philadelphia
Record]
Note
the
hierarchy
of
gender
alluded
to
in
the
year
1660
which
claims
that
under
gynarchy
the
wife
is
not
subject
to,
but
superior
to
her
husband,
or
the
1838
mention
of
wives
being
superior
to
husbands,
indicating
that
gynarchy
requires
servitude
and
inferiority
of
men
toward
women.
These
examples
indicate
that
males,
over
the
centuries,
have
been
trained
to
serve
the
gynarchy
with
chivalrous
servitude
that
reinforces
the
superiority
of
individual
women.
We
see
this
chivalrous
reinforcement
of
the
gynarchy
from
the
Middle
Ages
through
to
the
time
of
Ernst
B.
Bax
and
continuing
forward
to
today’s
“feminist
governance”.
Evidence
of
the
latter
is
all
around
us;
in
female-serving
male
politicians
(the
vast
majority),
government
funding
and
entitlement
programs,
education,
and
in
popular
woman-elevating
culture.
It
is
helpful
to
have
a
word
standing
for
the
individual
and
collective
female
governance
that
we
can
unsheath
at
quick
notice
–
and
this
word
gynarchy
serves
us
well.
Matriarchy
(rule
by
moms)
is
an
inaccurate
term
for
political
hegemony
enjoyed
by
the
female
sex
(because
not
all
females
are
moms),
and
similarly
patriarchy
is
an
inaccurate
term
when
applied
to
all
males
(because
not
all
males
are
dads)
–
not
that
accuracy
ever
worried
feminists
who
continue
to
refer
to
patriarchy
when
andrarchy
would
be
far
more
descriptive
of
their
imaginary
construct.
However
unlike
the
mythic
patriarchy
that
lacks
evidentiary
backing,
historical
gynarchy
is
supported
by
a
mountain
of
empirical
evidence.
If
we
define
gynarchy
as
government
by
or
for
women’s
interests
the
evidence
shows
that
most
of
today’s
social
institutions
are
thoroughly
gynarchic.
Modern
dictionaries
usually
define
gynarchy
as
a
political
system
governed
by
women
or
a
woman.
For
a
more
complete
understanding
it’s
important
to
recognise
that
“the
political
system”
women
govern
may
actually
be
staffed
by
male
servants
called
prime
ministers,
presidents,
or
politicians
who
work
on
behalf
of
the
ruling
female
gender.1
In
her
book
What’s
Right
With
Feminism
Cassandra
Langer
gives
a
concise
definition
that
accounts
for
the
proxy
role
of
male
leaders:
“Gynarchy
refers
to
government
by
women,
or
women-centered
government.”
References:
[1]
Gynarchy
by
proxy;
see
also
Alison
Tieman’s
YouTube
video
When
Slaves
Ruled
which
explains
this
dynamic
incisively
Original Story on AVFM
These stories are from AVoiceForMen.com.
(Changing the cultural narrative)