Commodify

The first step in patriarchy or androcentrism’s historical development is commodifying women’s sexuality. (104-110) Archaeological evidence suggests that during the Palaeolithic Age humans were more gatherer-hunters than hunter-gatherers, that foraging for nuts, seeds, berries, leaves, and plants provided the majority of our diet, and that male-female social roles were more egalitarian. But then began a long, slow slide to the Neolithic Age, the Agricultural Revolution, and social stratification. This allowed for a larger population which needed a more reliable food source, but it also meant men came out on top, women on the bottom, initially because farming and fighting favour larger bodies. Eventually, though, a few men on top ruled and many men on the bottom were enslaved or killed. While women never ruled, they were rarely killed, because they were less threatening and more useful as prostitutes. With the invention of money and property laws, men could profit from women. Even today (especially today), even in the West (especially in the West), women are a hot commodity. Flinders (author of At The Root Of This Longing) looks at magazine covers. Flinders looks at the $8 billion-a-year porn industry. You don’t have to look hard.