Women and history

The Creation of Patriarchy is a non-fiction book written by Gerda Lerner in 1986 as an explanation for the origins of misogyny in ancient Mesopotamia and the following Western societies. She traces the "images, metaphors, [and] myths" that lead to patriarchal concepts' existence in Western society (Lerner 10). She believes that the creation of patriarchy in the ancient Near East was a 2500-year period from nearly 3100 BC to 600 BC rather than a single event (Lerner 8). In the text, Lerner argues that women have historically played a large role in the systemic subjugation of women, whether for self-preservation, to receive the benefits of class and more modernly "race", or for other reasons. She claims that it is likely that women accepted sex-segregated tasks in their societies long before it led to sex-based oppression. Lerner also argues that the widespread existence of misogyny in societies is not due to biological or psychological differences between males and females, but rather that it has historical explanations. She states that since patriarchy "has a beginning in history", it "can be ended by historical process" (Lerner 6).