Definition of "matriarchy" A social system in which the mother is head of household , having authority over men and children . quotations examples
Quotations The difficulty is that when a man thinks of matriarchy he thinks of a patriarchy with women in the place of men ; he does not stop to consider that matriarchy may be a complete mirror -image . Where patriarchy establishes law , matriarchy establishes custom ; where patriarchy establishes military power , matriarchy establishes religious authority ; where patriarchy encourages the aresteia of the individual warrior , matriarchy encourages the tradition -bound cohesion of the collective . When , therefore , one envisions a matriarchy one should not conjure up visions of a gang of Amazons lopping off breasts and testicles to rule by force of arms .
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 149