Documentary: The Making of Male Dominance

John Biewen
John Biewen
Photo by Caroline Yang for MPR

A new documentary about the history of patriarchy.

It takes a look at the latest research by historians, sociologists and anthropologists on how male supremacy got started, going all the way back to the ancient world and leading up to the present day.

The documentary is called, "The Making of Male Dominance."

How did men hold on to the dominant position for so long? And why?

John Biewen concludes with this: "Even if you think there are some innate differences between men and women on average, and that's an unsettled controversial point, the power dynamic, the gender hierarchy, male dominance as we know it, is a human invention. And it can be un-built."

Co-hosted by John Biewen and Celeste Headlee of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Part of the Scene on Radio podcast from Duke University and PRX. This documentary is drawn from the current podcast series, MEN.

To listen to the documentary, click the audio player above.

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