[Glorantha] Grandmother, a patriarchal concept? Was Grandmother v grandmother on Yahoo!

[Orlanth Umathi]

Because I am shifting the emphasis of the Grandmother V grandmother 
debate I am posting here.

My main concern is the way that nearly all portrayals of Matriarchal 
society in popular culture are spurious at best and often ridiculous.

I would dismiss any argument that seeks to put a mirror up to 
patriarchal society as, at best, satire.

For instance, do we really want to model Esrolian society purely on 
ideas that would confuse Heortling males, or feel familliar to our world 
view with a twist. I don't. If it is an issue where MGV, then so be it.

Terms like Father and Mother in Catholicism are inherently Patriachal 
concepts, I do not agree that you can flip them round within a 
Matriarchal one. The family group would look different and parenting is 
often a more extended concept. If your mother has a similar standing to 
your aunt, I doubt a higher authority would be conceptually modelled on 
the idea of a greater mother.

Why are some so set on Grandmother in the first place It seems to me a 
patriarchal bias.

I would prefer to start with a historical context for the society and 
extrapolate based on family views then clan outlooks and then lastly a 
cultural context. So, if there is possible confusion for a term for 
Matriarch within a family context I would suggest it is unlikely to have 
developed this way.


Questions that need answers before we can truly judge:

1)	How did Esrolia become a Matriarchy in the first place?
2)	What does a typical family group look like?
3)	How are family concepts extended into the wider culture?
4)	How does this culture influence the government?


Jamie
I intend to let this sit for a bit before commenting again, thinking time.