Alice Evans

Why do so many academic histories, popular books and museum exhibits celebrate exceptional ‘kick ass’ women, while minimizing patriarchy? What went so terribly wrong in gender studies, and how can we study patriarchy with open-minded empiricism? www.ggd.world/publish/post...

Why are some societies misogynistic? In my latest essay, I argue that misogyny is functional. By belittling women's intellect and ideas, casting them as dim, men reinforce fraternal solidarity, saying "trust us, not them". Eg the Ottoman adage 👇 t.co/ZQejX5Xyxy

One of the biggest challenges in human history has been to scale up cooperation, so as to enable greater complexity. This is very difficult in tribal societies. I suggest that Islamic empires did this through strengthening brotherhood www.ggd.world/p/did-female...

Societies gained strength from alliances, but this also created a hazard, as strangers increasingly intermingled with each other’s women. Sexual rivalries could provoke bitter acrimony Key for any alliance was to quell men's conflicts over women 👇👇👇 www.ggd.world/p/rape-and-r...

One of the biggest questions is how did cooperation expand from small foraging bands to the enormous, complex societies we see today? These accounts are overwhelmingly gender neutral. Instead, we must recognise how warrior societies repressed romantic love 👇👇 www.ggd.world/p/was-patria...

Over the past 50 years, many gender historians have claimed that there were ancient matriarchies... So was there an alternative? Could we have achieved the modern world, with economic growth, jobs, contraceptives, states to police safety WITHOUT HISTORICAL PATRIARCHY?

WAS PATRIARCHY INEVITABLE? Could the modern world have emerged without male supremacy? My new essay www.ggd.world/p/was-patria...

Why are some societies matrilocal, sending sons out to other villages? One idea is that it strengthens military cooperation, as male relatives unite against shared foes But if matrilocality consolidated warrior fraternities, what did this mean for women? www.ggd.world/p/what-expla...

Is Matrilocality Over-Rated? The Siraya of Taiwan were matrilineal and matrilocal. Villages were autonomous, egalitarian and led by deliberative councils. Yet these same societies were also warring, with head-hunting and "mandatory abortions" www.ggd.world/p/is-matrilo...

Personally, I think that Qasim Amin provides one of the best and most incisive analyses of seclusion that I've ever read. Today, this is totally under-studied and largely ignored, so it was really striking to read such empathetic and poignant work.

As loyal readers know, I'm a big fan of going back to the original sources, rather than relying on the secondary literature. These 6 Egyptian and Tunisian books are superbly insightful 👇👇👇👇

“A generation ago a woman would have been disgraced had she left her husband’s house or been seen by a stranger. If we compare those times with today, without a doubt we find that these customs are on the wane" Qasim Amin, 1899 on ongoing reform in Egypt My new essay www.ggd.world/p/behind-bol...

At the turn of the 20th century, Egyptian & Tunisian reformists condemned female seclusion. They provide hugely valuable insights on its causes and consequences. Reading their books in translation taught me a great deal. Here's my new essay: www.ggd.world/p/behind-bol...

A fascinating piece, and it's also interesting to see examples of the Orientalisation (Occidentalisation?) of Europe by travellers from China, the Ottoman Empire, Morocco and others.

"MEN ARE SLAVES TO THE WOMEN HERE!!" Fascinating to read Chinese, Turkish, Moroccan, Persian men's travelogues and diaries of Europe. I wager you will learn more from their accounts than many Western histories of the West!! www.ggd.world/p/men-are-sl...

"MEN ARE SLAVES TO THE WOMEN HERE!!" Fascinating to read Chinese, Turkish, Moroccan, Persian men's travelogues and diaries of Europe. I wager you will learn more from their accounts than many Western histories of the West!! www.ggd.world/p/men-are-sl...

"Most people think think that women are not living in slavery, but in a state natural to them" Points if you can guess the nationality of the author. Double points if you know her name :-)

English Harriet Martineau observations of America in 1840.

New from me: What did Indian Women Make of Victorian England? Janakummah Ragaviah (from Madras) and Krishnabhabini Das (Bengal) travelled to England in the 1870s-80s, then published their observations. These books provide fascinating insights into the drivers of gender equality.

In the 1920s, Parisian chic went viral on silent cinema, as fashionable women in London, L.A., Japan and Mexico City started sporting bob cuts and flapper dresses. Great example of prestige bias! But did you know about the patriarchal backlash...?

The global spread of the "New Woman", from Denmark to Japan to Mexico over the 1920s, with Ibsen's play and a bob cut, was an early prequel to 21st century progressive feminist memes going viral on Instagram.

What does the World Cup, and the history of football, teach us about the drivers of gender equality? My new essay - featuring Daron www.ggd.world/p/punishing-...

If you watched the World Cup final, you witnessed two things which are hugely important to the history of global gender relations: male coalitional violence and the rise of impartial institutions. My new essay is inspired by @dacemoglumit.bsky.social and FIFA! www.ggd.world/p/punishing-...

If you go to a Western museum about any country's history, it will typically highlight 'kick-ass' women who were subversive, agentic and powerful. In fact, so much of human history as been shaped by violent & aggressive struggles by gangs of armed men, competing for status.

Does Penelope have 'agency'? Some gender historians have presented Penelope as cunning and ‘agentic’. While Odysseus is away, his wife is hassled by suitors seeking her hand and his estate. Odysseus is then congratulated for having such a devout wife. But... www.ggd.world/p/what-does-...

What does the Odyssey teach us about European Patriarchy? www.ggd.world/p/what-does-... drawing on @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social's brilliant translation cc @economeager.bsky.social

What does the Odyssey teach us about European Patriarchy? www.ggd.world/p/what-does-...

What does the Odyssey teach us about European Patriarchy? www.ggd.world/p/what-does-...

What does the Odyssey teach us about European Patriarchy? www.ggd.world/p/what-does-... drawing on @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social's brilliant translation cc @economeager.bsky.social

Throughout history, militarised male coalitions have slaughtered rivals & captured women. Elite women struggled to exert public influence because they often gained respect through submission and self-erasure. Patriarchs thus often operated a dual strategy: confining insiders, raping outsiders.

Dalit women's oppression is often written about their experiences, struggles and agency. That's hugely important, but I think it's equally useful to understand the mechanisms that enable dominant- caste men's impunity 👇 www.ggd.world/p/confining-...

I have some suggestions for how we can do gender history with greater empiricism and openness www.ggd.world/p/getting-re...

gonna be honest a lot of feminist historians say "women were respected authorities in the home and the family" in the same way that twitter chuds think their grandparents were a matriarchy because the grandmother was in charge of family lunch

Feminist historians often urge us to recognise women's agency, subversion and hidden powers But do such narratives risk creating a rose-tinted patriarchy, Downplaying the reality of imperial militarism and back-breaking drudgery? Case in point: the Aztecs! t.co/g6Mbbvt1sf

Feminist historians often urge us to recognise women's agency, subversion and hidden powers But do such narratives risk creating a rose-tinted patriarchy, Downplaying the reality of imperial militarism and back-breaking drudgery? Case in point: the Aztecs! t.co/g6Mbbvt1sf

What's breaking the market for love? Southern Africa has made major strides towards gender equality, but it has very high rates of unintended pregnancies and single motherhood. Why is this? www.ggd.world/p/whats-brea...

When do men provide devotion? If we think like economists, we might consider the market for love. Men supply devotion if they want female companionship and she insists on devotion as the price of intimacy But both of these can break down, and then he does not bother www.ggd.world/p/whats-brea...

What's breaking the market for love? Southern Africa has made major strides towards gender equality, but it has very high rates of unintended pregnancies and single motherhood. Why is this? www.ggd.world/p/whats-brea...