What is life like for women in a matriarchal society?
A healthy body and a gentle birth

What children and moms have told me

How women can live in good health

A secure place for every woman

Imagine growing up knowing that you will always have a home. Among the Minangkabau of Indonesia, this is normal: land and the family house pass from mother to daughter. Among the Khasi of India, the youngest daughter inherits the family house and cares for the family traditions. And among the Mosuo of China, families gather around the grandmother, and children grow up in their mother's household, surrounded by aunts and uncles.

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A secure place does something to a woman. She doesn't need to earn her place. She can simply be. And, as research now shows, her body feels that.

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What the Mosuo teach us about women's health

The Mosuo live in the mountains of southwest China, around Lugu Lake. What makes them special for researchers is that they live in two ways. In some villages, life follows the mother's line: women run the household, control land and resources, and children inherit through their mother. In other villages, life follows the father's line: sons inherit from their fathers, and a woman usually moves in with her husband's family.

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An international team of researchers, led by anthropologist Siobhán Mattison of the University of New Mexico, compared the health of women and men in both kinds of villages. They measured blood pressure and a marker of inflammation in the blood. Both are early warning signs of chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.

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The results were striking. In the patrilineal villages, 37.4% of women had high blood pressure, compared with 29.7% of men, and the women had more than double the inflammation. In the matrilineal villages, the pattern turned around: there, women were healthier than men on both measures. "Men aren't doing worse under matriliny," Mattison explained. "It's just that women seem to be doing better."

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Why? The researchers see several reasons, and they all touch the heart of this course. Women in the matrilineal villages have more say. They decide how the household is run and what the family eats, so they can choose nourishing food for everyone. They have access to land and resources, which gives security. And they stay close to their own mother, sisters and aunts. Katherine Wander, one of the researchers, describes how life in the father's line can bring subtle, chronic stress for women, such as living far from their own family. Year after year, that stress activates the body's stress system. In the mother's line, women live surrounded by the people who love them most, with a voice in every decision. Their bodies can rest.

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For me, this research confirms what I describe in my books. When a woman feels safe, heard and connected, her body is healthy.

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Less stress, a healthier body

Stress leaves traces in your body. When you live with stress for a long time, your body makes substances that harm your hormone balance and your health. Many women today carry a lot: work, children, sometimes parents, a household, and often the feeling that they have to prove themselves.

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In the Matriarchal World, life feels very different. Women feel loved, valuable and important. They lead, have a voice in every decision and are surrounded by a community that shares the care. No woman has to carry everything alone. There is time to come together, to dance and sing, and to rest when the body asks for it. This calm is the foundation of everything that follows.

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Food full of life

That calm starts with what you eat. In the Old World, people live together with nature. Nature is healthy and rich in animals and plants, and there is enough food for everyone. Every spring, the farmer asks the Earth what she needs to grow the best fruits and seeds, and follows her advice. So people eat the best, tastiest and most nourishing vegetables and fruit.

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Your body communicates with food in a way you can't see. It "reads" the minerals and vitamins in what you eat, and tells you what you need. When you eat pure food, such as vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts, your body is well nourished and your glands keep making enough hormones. Today, much of our food grows with pesticides in tired soil. Research by Anne-Marie Mayer (1997) compared British vegetables from the 1940s with those from the 1990s and found lower levels of minerals such as calcium, magnesium and copper.

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Researchers still discuss the exact causes. In the Matriarchal World, food is full of life, so the body receives everything it needs.

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Only products that are good for your body

Why would food and products be so much purer in the Matriarchal World? Because nobody earns money from them. The Old World knows no money as a means of exchange, only the principle of sharing, giving and taking what you need. Only necessary, natural products exist. Makers are the investors of the community, and their goal is to make life better, not to make a profit. Everything a woman touches, sees and hears is good for her body. That is simply the standard.

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In our world, many products are made to sell. Your skin is a breathing organ, so what you put on it is absorbed into your body. Many care products contain parabens, and tiny plastic particles end up in our food and drinks. The Endocrine Society, the international association of hormone specialists, warns that substances in plastics and everyday products can disturb our hormone system. When a product exists only because it is good for you, your body can relax. You deserve to live in such a world too.

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Healthcare that fits women

The same care shapes medicine in the Old World. Medicine there is far advanced and always holistic. People learn to see and understand the body before they treat it, because every body is different. A diagnosis always looks for the cause behind a complaint, whether physical, emotional or external. Women learn to talk with their pain and to ask their body what it needs. Plants, herbs, gemstones, sound and energy all help, and there is always someone who can help you.

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In our world, medicines have long been tested mainly on men, while a woman's body has a different hormone and immune system. The McKinsey Health Institute found that women spend about 25% more of their lives in poor health than men. Around 80% of people with an autoimmune disease are women. Healthcare that fits women starts by listening to women and their bodies. You can read more about this in the course on women's health.

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Without trauma, a lighter body

There is one more reason why women's bodies are so healthy in the Matriarchal World: they carry no trauma. Your cells have their own memory. They remember how to respond to emotions and events, and they store intense emotions. Storing these heavy emotions costs your body space and energy, and over time it can make you ill. The large Adverse Childhood Experiences study by Vincent Felitti and colleagues (1998), with more than 17,000 adults, showed this link clearly. Painful experiences in childhood are connected to a higher risk of heart disease, lung disease and other chronic illnesses later in life.

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In the Matriarchal World, rape, insults and discrimination have no place, and nobody carries her pain alone. Women's bodies stay light and healthy, and people live much longer, sometimes up to a thousand years. You can read more about this in the course Are matriarchal societies more peaceful?

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A cycle in harmony

A body in balance also lives in harmony with its cycle. Your cycle is connected to the Earth: where a woman's cycle takes four weeks, the Earth's cycle takes four seasons, in the same order. Building up life, bringing it forth, letting go and resting. When you live with your cycle, you live in harmony with the Earth.

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In my vision, women in the Old World are so connected to their energy that they guide their own cycle. They have no monthly bleeding or ovulation, and when a woman wishes to become pregnant, she sets her cycle in motion herself. This shows how much power a woman's body carries when she lives in balance.

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A gentle birth

When a woman lives this way, pregnancy and birth become a celebration. In the Matriarchal World, a pregnancy begins with a meeting between two souls. The child seeks contact with her mother, and together they choose the time. Other women prepare the mother for the birth: she learns to create her own pain relief, to go into hypnosis and to heal her body afterwards. Birth is a beautiful ritual, in a place full of flowers and gemstones, surrounded by women who each have their own role. In deep relaxation, it can be gentle and almost painless.

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Some of this wisdom is being rediscovered today. A large Cochrane review (Bohren and colleagues, 2017), with more than 15,000 women, found that continuous support during labour led to fewer caesareans, less pain medication and more positive birth experiences. I followed a Hypnobirthing course myself, and it helped me to give birth largely without pain. Your midwife and medical care remain an important part of a safe birth, so discuss your wishes with them in advance. After the birth, allow yourself at least forty days of rest to heal.

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If a complaint or a painful experience weighs heavily on you, a doctor, midwife or therapist can offer extra support. The choice of what fits you is yours.

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How to bring this wisdom into your body and life

Free tips

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1. Eat food full of life

Choose one meal a day made of pure, unprocessed food: vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, preferably organic and local. Notice how your body feels, and let it tell you what it needs.

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2. Look through your bathroom cabinet

Read the labels of your shampoo, make-up, lotion and toothpaste. Replace one product this month with a natural alternative. Your skin is a breathing organ, so treat it with love.

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3. Swap plastic for glass

Store your food in glass jars, drink from a glass bottle and warm your food in a glass or ceramic dish. Every small change lightens the load on your hormones.

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4. Give your body daily calm

Plan a moment of calm every day: a walk in nature, a bath, meditation, dancing or singing. Share one task this week with someone else, so you carry a little less.

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5. Stay close to the women who love you

Like the Mosuo women, surround yourself with the people who make you feel safe. Plan time this week with your mother, sister, aunt or a close friend. Connection is medicine.

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6. Talk with your body

Place your hands on a place in your body that asks for attention. Ask it what it needs, and listen. Look for a doctor or therapist who listens to you and takes your body seriously.

Frequently asked questions

What is life like for women in a matriarchal society?

Women in matriarchal societies have a secure place in their family and community, often own land or the family house, and take part in decisions. In the Matriarchal World I describe, women lead, feel valued and live in a healthy environment, with pure food, holistic care and a community that shares the care.

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Are women healthier in matriarchal societies?

Research among the Mosuo of China suggests they can be. In patrilineal Mosuo villages, women had more high blood pressure and inflammation than men. In matrilineal villages this reversed, and women were healthier than men. Researchers link this to more autonomy, access to resources, better food choices, closeness to family and less chronic stress.

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Why is food healthier in the Matriarchal World?

People there live together with nature and ask the Earth what she needs to grow the best food. Food is pure and full of life, so the body receives all the minerals and vitamins it needs and hormones stay in balance.

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Which everyday products can disturb your hormones?

Hormone specialists warn about endocrine-disrupting chemicals in some plastics, care products and cosmetics. Glass, natural care products and pure food help you reduce your exposure.

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Why would a world without money be healthier?

When nobody earns money from a product, it only exists because it is good for people. In the Matriarchal World, makers aim to make life better, so only natural products that support the body are made.

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Why does women's health need more attention?

Medicines and research have long focused mainly on men, while women's bodies have a different hormone and immune system. Women spend more of their lives in poor health, and around 80% of people with an autoimmune disease are women. Healthcare that listens to women helps close this gap.

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How does trauma affect your body?

Your cells store heavy emotions, and this costs your body energy. Research shows that painful childhood experiences are linked to a higher risk of chronic illness later in life. Healing trauma and living in safety help your body stay light and healthy.

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Is a painless birth possible?

Many women experience a gentle, much less painful birth when they feel safe, supported and deeply relaxed. Continuous support during labour reduces the use of pain medication, and relaxation methods such as hypnobirthing can also help. Discuss your wishes with your midwife.

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