Editing Matriarchy (section)

=== Words beginning with  ''gyn-'' ===
{{Redirect|Gynecocracy|the novel|Gynecocracy (novel)}}
A matriarchy is also sometimes called a ''[[matrifocal family|gynarchy]]'', a ''gynocracy'', a ''gynecocracy'', or a ''[[gynocentric]]'' society, although these terms do not definitionally emphasize motherhood. [[Cultural anthropology|Cultural anthropologist]] Jules de Leeuwe argued that some societies were "mainly ''gynecocratic''"<ref name="Jules de Leeuwe">Leeuwe, Jules de, untitled comment (November 18, 1977) (emphases so in original), as a response to and with [[Eleanor Leacock|Leacock, Eleanor]], ''Women's Status in Egalitarian Society: Implications for Social Evolution'', in ''Current Anthropology'', vol.&nbsp;33, no.&nbsp;1, supp. ''Inquiry and Debate in the Human Sciences: Contributions from Current Anthropology, 1960–1990'' (February, 1992 ({{ISSN|0011-3204}} & E-ISSN 1537-5382)), p.&nbsp;241.</ref> (others being "mainly ''androcratic''").<ref name="Jules de Leeuwe" />{{Efn|[[Androcracy]], form of government ruled by men, especially fathers}}

Gynecocracy, gynaecocracy, gynocracy, gyneocracy, and gynarchy generally mean 'government by women over women and men'.<ref>{{harvp|OED|1993|loc=entries ''gynaecocracy'', ''gynocracy'', ''gynarchy'' & ''gyneocracy''}}</ref><ref name="W3-3defs">''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged'' (G. & C. Merriam (Merriam-Webster), 1966), entries ''gynecocracy'', ''gynocracy'', & ''gynarchy''.</ref><ref name="AmHeritageDict3ed-3defs">''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 3d ed. 1992 ({{ISBN|0-395-44895-6}})), entries ''gynecocracy'', ''gynocracy'', & ''gynarchy''.</ref><ref name="RHsWebUnDict2ed-2defs">''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary'' (N.Y.: Random House, 2d ed. 2001 ({{ISBN|0-375-42566-7}})), entries ''gynecocracy'' & ''gynarchy''.</ref> All of these words are synonyms in their most important definitions, and while these words all share that principal meaning, they differ a little in their additional meanings, so that ''gynecocracy'' also means 'women's social supremacy',<ref name="W3-gynecocracy">''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged'' (G. & C. Merriam (Merriam-Webster), 1966), entry ''gynecocracy''.</ref> ''gynaecocracy'' also means 'government by one woman', 'female dominance', and, derogatorily, 'petticoat government',<ref>{{harvp|OED|1993|loc=''gynaecocracy''}}</ref> and ''gynocracy'' also means 'women as the ruling class'.<ref>{{harvp|OED|1993|loc=''gynocracy''}}</ref> ''Gyneocracy'' is rarely used in modern times.<ref>{{harvp|OED|1993|loc=''gyneocracy''}}</ref> None of these definitions are limited to mothers.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Some question whether a queen ruling without a king is sufficient to constitute female government, given the amount of participation of other men in most such governments. One view is that it is sufficient. "By the end of [Queen] Elizabeth's reign, gynecocracy was a ''fait accompli''", according to historian Paula Louise Scalingi.<ref>{{harvp|Scalingi|1978|p=72}}</ref>{{Efn|[[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]], queen regnant of England and Ireland in 1533–1603}} Gynecocracy is defined by Scalingi as "government by women",<ref>{{harvp|Scalingi|1978|p=59}}</ref> similar to dictionary definitions<ref name="W3-3defs" /><ref name="AmHeritageDict3ed-3defs" /><ref name="RHsWebUnDict2ed-2defs" /> (one dictionary adding 'women's social supremacy' to the governing role).<ref name="W3-gynecocracy" /> Scalingi reported arguments for and against the validity of gynocracy<ref>{{harvp|Scalingi|1978|loc=p.&nbsp;60 & ''passim''}}</ref> and said, "the humanists treated the question of female rule as part of the larger controversy over sexual equality."<ref name="ScepterDistaff-Historian-p60">{{harvp|Scalingi|1978|p=60}}</ref> Possibly, queenship, because of the power wielded by men in leadership and assisting a queen, leads to [[queen bee syndrome]], contributing to the difficulty of other women in becoming heads of the government.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

Some matriarchies have been described by historian [[Bertha Eckstein-Diener|Helen Diner]] as "a strong gynocracy"<ref name="MothersAmazons-1965-p137">{{harvp|Diner|1965|p=173}}</ref> and "women monopolizing government"<ref>{{harvp|Diner|1965|p=136}}</ref> and she described matriarchal [[Amazons]] as "an extreme, feminist wing"<ref>{{harvp|Diner|1965|loc=p.&nbsp;123 and see p.&nbsp;122}}</ref>{{Efn|Amazon feminism, feminism that emphasizes female physical prowess toward the goal of gender equality}} of humanity and that North African women "ruled the country politically" before being overthrown by forms of patriarchy<ref name="MothersAmazons-1965-p137" /> and, according to Adler, Diner "envision[ed] a dominance matriarchy".<ref>{{harvp|Adler|2006|p=195}}</ref>

[[Gynocentrism]] is the 'dominant or exclusive focus on women', is opposed to [[androcentrism]], and "invert[s]&nbsp;... the privilege of the&nbsp;... [male/female] binary&nbsp;...[,] [some feminists] arguing for 'the superiority of values embodied in traditionally female experience'".<ref>Latter quotation: {{Cite book | last = Davis | first = Debra Diane | title = Breaking up [at] totality: A rhetoric of laughter | at = p.&nbsp;137 and see pp.&nbsp;136–137 & 143 | publisher = Southern Illinois University Press | location = Carbondale, Illinois | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-0809322282 }} (brackets in title so in original) & quoting: {{Cite journal | last = Young | first = Iris Marion | author-link = Iris Marion Young | title = Humanism, gynocentrism, and feminist politics | journal = [[Women's Studies International Forum]] | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | pages = 173–183 | doi = 10.1016/0277-5395(85)90040-8 | date = 1985 }}</ref>