Page 270 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

women’s and gender history 2047

men.These revealed the need to study the history of men, From Matriarchy
too, as gendered individuals.A distinction between sex— to Patriarchy?
that is, physical anatomical differences—and gender— Global women’s and gender history is still a very new
that is, culturally and historically constructed differences field of research. So far, a central issue has been the ques-
between women and men—started the argument over tion of the origin of patriarchy. Although most cultures
essentialism versus constructionalism. In the 1990s queer overtly allocated more direct power to men than to
theory and post-structuralism further diversified ap- women, historians have wondered if there was once a
proaches to gender history. The linguistic turn, which time when this was not so. Some have postulated the
focused on texts—literary as well as visual material— existence of prehistoric matriarchal societies in Africa, in
rather than on events, individuals, or groups also helped the early Americas, and in Europe. The German nine-
pave the way for studying gender as a trope for hierar- teenth century scholar J. J. Bachofen (1815–1887) saw
chical relations in fields of history that at the outset such societies as primitive ones that were gradually sup-
seemed to have nothing to do with gender. planted by patriarchies, which were more advanced.The
Some historians have feared that these approaches socialist Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) believed that
would deprive women’s history of the possibility of agriculture and private ownership gave rise to the nuclear
studying women as agents in history and reduce the family in which men controlled women’s sexuality in
focus of history to the history of women’s lived lives. order to ensure legitimate offspring.
The term gender history has also sometimes been seen The American historian Gerda Lerner (born 1920) has
as a departure from the original aim of restoring women put forward the theory that patriarchy was based on the
to history and as weakening the political potential of exchange of women among men and preceded other
women’s history. Gradually, however, helped by the hierarchies. Other theories have examined the impor-
growth in interdisciplinary research approaches, such tance of men’s physical strength and women’s need for
divisions have become less distinct. Gender history and protection for the development of patriarchy, or they have
men’s history are now frequently seen as outgrowths of interrogated the impact of religious and other ideological
and parallels to women’s history, and cultural studies forces, of material structures such as plough-cultures, pri-
have united a number of approaches to historical vate ownership, literacy, and not least, of state formation
research. and political systems on gender relations. Whatever the
Applying gender as an analytical category to world his- theory, insufficient source material makes it hard to
tory may be a fruitful way to see gender as a process decide how male-dominated societies evolved. But the
where the meanings and importance of gender may complicated structures of such societies and the variations
change over time, and where the importance of other ana- among them through time remain enticing research areas.
lytical categories—ethnicity, race, class, national and cul-
tural identity, and so on—may interact with gender in Gendered
varying ways. Gender may be seen as a basic social struc- Global Human Experiences
ture that in any culture, in any society, and at all times Applying gender as an analytical category means ques-
interacts with other social structures to determine the tioning the divide between the history of economic,
socialization of an individual, the distribution of work social, political, and ideological structures and the history
and responsibilities, and of rights in the family and in of private lives. A basic question may be the shifting
society. Gender is at work in studies of material life as importance of the household and family unit to the
well as of ideologies and politics.When societies change, development of any society. In fact, all global human
so do gender relations, and changes in gender relations experiences lend themselves very well to gender analysis.
influence other social relations. Family structures, economic and social life, politics and