Why it’s worth taking a broader look at dual cultures | archeology

Laura Spinney offers a compelling glimpse into the potential for gender-egalitarian societies to flourish in the past, cultures in which women had a great deal of autonomy and influence (The Big Idea: Was Prehistory a Feminist Paradise?, October 5). However, her article remains constrained by a predominantly Eurocentric lens.

Most of Spinney’s examples are drawn from Europe and Asia, where patriarchal systems replaced “binary” models (those based on shared rule between the sexes) in the distant past. However, in some regions dualistic cultures have persisted for much longer. In places such as Canada, the United States, parts of Africa, southern India, and Polynesia, these pierced traditions are almost within living memory.

For evidence see Mi’kmaw Women – Strength of the Nationan online educational initiative launched by Mount Allison University in Canada. She educates Indigenous women on how colonialism dismantled previous female autonomy in Mi’kmaw society, including the forced removal of children to missionary schools where Christian patriarchal values ​​were imposed.

Likewise, a 2022 Guardian article about Kenyan Kikuyu women reclaiming their heritage says: “Under Kikuyu cultural practices, women controlled agricultural production, the community’s main source of livelihood. Mukuru says she was surprised to discover that the culture was also matrilineally and sexually liberal.” Once again, it was European colonial pressure that suppressed these women’s roles.

The intersection between birch power and LGBTQ+ history is often overlooked. In societies where women are valued as equals to men, individuals with both masculine and feminine traits are often revered. Many binary cultures have embraced gender diverse people, assigning them spiritual and cultural roles.
Simon Dawson
(Winterbourne Gunner, Wiltshire).