RE: Ecotrain Question of the Week:What is matriarchy? What do you think a matriarchal society would look like?
A fascinating, lovely post. I grew up in a kind of matriarchy--my own home in upstate NY. My mother ran the show. She didn't "look to others to show the way". She found it, in herself. We didn't have much contact with the outside, so my mother's strength formed my worldview. My father was mostly absent. It never occurred to me that a man would be in charge. Much like the matriarchy you describe, I always assumed I would be responsible for whatever needed doing. As I grew older, this posture was sometimes interpreted as a radical feminism, but it wasn't. It was simple an assumption of autonomy and equality.
I will look into #ecotrain. As I become familiar with Steemit I'm finding communities with content that matches my interests.
Thank you @agmoore, yes it is about autonomy and equality. Thank you for sharing your story with us. You can find ecotrain on Discord here. https://discord.gg/sxpEPJc.
Since our exchange on this blog, I've been doing a little research on the geological history of NY State. I got distracted by reading about pre-European civilizations and came across a description of the Lenape, which had a matrilineal social organization. See:
Family, Women, and Children and Gender Roles in the Lenape Tribe. While responsibilities were divided between men and women among the Lenape, "women made a large percentage of the decision making.." about "... who was sent into battle and who stayed home, property rights, leadership for the community...". I think the Lenape fit your description of matriarchy, which does not imply dominance, but shared responsibility. Thought you'd find this an interesting bit of trivia.
Back to geology and the Hudson River Valley now :)
Thanks so much for sharing this with me @agmoore, I'm going to go have a read of it now.