The origins and future of patriarchy: the biological background of gender politics

Abstract

Those working in reproductive health are vividly aware of how much more time and energy a woman puts into pregnancy and lactation than a man puts into depositing sperm. Evolution predicts that the sex making most biological investment in the next generation will be cautious in their mating choices while the one that makes the least investment is likely to be more competitive less discriminating and more risk-taking. It is a generalisation borne out by the behaviour of all other species including our own. Evolutionary psychology posits that certain behaviours are universal because they helped the genes of a particular species to survive across the generations. In the case of human beings such behavioural predispositions evolved to adapt us to the Stone Age rather the modern world. Patriarchy we suggest has deep roots in human evolution. (excerpt)

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