THE ORIGINS OF MAlE DOMINATION

Claudine Cohen

Passés composés, 248 pages, 2025

Why you should take a look at it:
√ A highly anticipated book by a pioneering historian of science
√ A rigorous and engaging examination of the history of male domination
√ A much-needed reflection on gender relations, at the heart of current social debate

Few societies escape male domination. For ages, the hierarchy between the sexes—one of the most significant and persistent social structures in human societies—was considered predestination, a natural given. Whether blatant or discreet, deadly or celebrated, this domination, and the injustices it creates, exists and persists as one of the most pervasive structures in human societies, and as an enduring framework for our lives. Where does this hegemony derive its raison d'être, its permanence, its legitimacy?

To question the roots of male domination, Claudine Cohen launches a comprehensive investigation that reflects a wealth of research including anthropology, paleoanthropology, and prehistory in the context of the economic, cultural, political, and social history of human societies. Going back to paleolithic times, she traces how the establishment of male domination took place in several stages, involving a range of processes that gave rise to hierarchical relationships between the sexes.

What continuity can be traced from the distant past of prehistory to present-day societies? Does the persistence to this day of inequality and mistreatment imposed on women reflect the persistence of old ways of functioning, or even structures founded “at the origins”? By retracing the diverse forms of male domination over time and space, and within societies themselves, the work of Claudine Cohen is a timely reminder that it is not inevitable and therefore can be transformed going forward.

Claudine Cohen is a paleontologist, philosopher, and historian of science. A university professor, director of studies at the EPHE and the EHESS, she has pioneered research on sexual representations in Western prehistory that have earned her an international reputation. She is a member of the Institut Diderot. In 2023, Cohen received the Mary C. Rabbitt Award from the Geological Society of America.