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I am pretty sure menstruation and child birth are not farming age inventions.

JulianMorrison 7y ago
You'd be surprised. Longer breastfeeding suppresses ovulation and menstruation, so fertility is relatively rare. Childbirth works better squatting. Humans evolved to be hunter gatherers, most of our history is pre-settled-agriculture, we do fit that lifestyle better. And patriarchy was never contingent on those things anyhow. It's just a cultural choice that got stuck because it was woven into the form of citified civilization.
- contraryBecause 7y ago
  So, I guess you're cool with the Darwinian aspect of childbirth, where we just let women bite it on their own, because if they can't survive the birthing process they must've been unfit organisms? And oh yeah, what about that part where, as part of nomadic life (you know, living in undefended tents, encampments, shanty towns, what have you), guys can pretty much just take what they want when push comes to shove, and inseminate women according to any opportunity available (see also: orangutan mating strategies), like, you know, when it's dark at night and everyone's trying to sleep and no one is looking. And before you retort that such a thing is easier said than done, consider that the definition of success is not living well after the act of conception. As long as the proverbial toilet gets flushed, the pregnancy was mostly a runaway train, with few reliable undo buttons. How do those aspects of sex differences fit into your world view of the old dastardly, dastardly patriarchy?
- projektir 7y ago
  > Longer breastfeeding suppresses ovulation and menstruation, so fertility is relatively rare. > Childbirth works better squatting. I would like to see citations indicating that these statements are true to a significant degree that modern improvements are of little value. I can't even find data on maternal mortality before 1800.
- walterstucco 7y ago
  While some of it it's true, especially the longer breastfeeding cycles, hunter gatherers were very exposed to natural dangers and groups were very small and vulnerable: a sickness or an accident could whipe them away overnight.
- Natsu 7y ago
  There are patriarchal hierarchies among crustaceans, it seems less like a 'choice' and more like the result of a random, survivorship-biased process.
  - dasil003 7y ago
    I don’t actually believe one way or the other but I can’t help but notice that is a convenient viewpoint for the patriarchy.
  - ihm 7y ago
    Similarly, crustaceans have hard shells, which explains why we live in buildings made out of hard materials.

You'd be surprised. Longer breastfeeding suppresses ovulation and menstruation, so fertility is relatively rare. Childbirth works better squatting. Humans evolved to be hunter gatherers, most of our history is pre-settled-agriculture, we do fit that lifestyle better. And patriarchy was never contingent on those things anyhow. It's just a cultural choice that got stuck because it was woven into the form of citified civilization.

contraryBecause 7y ago
So, I guess you're cool with the Darwinian aspect of childbirth, where we just let women bite it on their own, because if they can't survive the birthing process they must've been unfit organisms? And oh yeah, what about that part where, as part of nomadic life (you know, living in undefended tents, encampments, shanty towns, what have you), guys can pretty much just take what they want when push comes to shove, and inseminate women according to any opportunity available (see also: orangutan mating strategies), like, you know, when it's dark at night and everyone's trying to sleep and no one is looking. And before you retort that such a thing is easier said than done, consider that the definition of success is not living well after the act of conception. As long as the proverbial toilet gets flushed, the pregnancy was mostly a runaway train, with few reliable undo buttons. How do those aspects of sex differences fit into your world view of the old dastardly, dastardly patriarchy?
projektir 7y ago
> Longer breastfeeding suppresses ovulation and menstruation, so fertility is relatively rare. > Childbirth works better squatting. I would like to see citations indicating that these statements are true to a significant degree that modern improvements are of little value. I can't even find data on maternal mortality before 1800.
walterstucco 7y ago
While some of it it's true, especially the longer breastfeeding cycles, hunter gatherers were very exposed to natural dangers and groups were very small and vulnerable: a sickness or an accident could whipe them away overnight.
Natsu 7y ago
There are patriarchal hierarchies among crustaceans, it seems less like a 'choice' and more like the result of a random, survivorship-biased process.
- dasil003 7y ago
  I don’t actually believe one way or the other but I can’t help but notice that is a convenient viewpoint for the patriarchy.
- ihm 7y ago
  Similarly, crustaceans have hard shells, which explains why we live in buildings made out of hard materials.