History Main / Matriarchy

%%* ''Webcomic/SwordPrincessAmaltea'' is a Patriarchy flip set in a MedievalEuropeanFantasy.

* ''VideoGame/EndlessLegends'' has the Vaulters faction which are always led by a woman, this is due Vaulters historically having a lot of good luck with female leaders and don't want to jinx anything even though the faction isn't normally superstitious. Which is why all the troops are men while the Vaulter heroes are women.

* This version often appear´s in {{harem}}-series (and {{ecchi}} in general), especially in those where only woman have access to superpower´s.

* ''Blog/HamstersParadise'': As the name suggests, the matriarch harmsters live in societies dominated by the [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership most vicious females]]. The reason this particular species has female leaders is because they are significantly [[MoreDeadlyThanTheMale larger and more aggressive than the males]] as a result of living on the isolated continent of Mesoterra which is home to the [[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast maniacal ripperoo]], a deadly predator that is also the primitive ancestor to the all harmsters, favoring bigger females able to fight them off. The lead female is also the only one allowed to breed in her tribe with any children of other females being killed, the only way for a new female to be able to reproduce is to [[KlingonPromotion kill the current leader]]. The exact treatment of the smaller, more numerous males varies from culture to culture: the militant Hamazons treat them with as utterly expendable, the fanatical Ripper Sisterhood have them conditioned to be mindlessly self-sacrificing and the pragmatic Badland Bandits still have female leaders but don't abuse their males to seeing it as needlessly wasteful.

* ''Literature/GreenAntarctica'': The Ghault are the only Tsalal culture to be a matriarchy. Due to their culture involving regular alcohol consumption, but also being aware of [[OneDrinkWillKillTheBaby the damage alcohol does to fetal development]], women are the only ones to not be drunk a majority of the time. Notably, being matriarchal doesn't make them any nicer or less terrifying than the other Tsalal--their history is full of tales of cruel "witch-queens".

* In Lois Bujold's "Borders of Infinity" novella, hundreds of POW's are trapped in an always lit dome. They lose all hope and civility. The only order is the ‘women's area', which women cooperate to guard, to remain safe from rape. The (male) protagonist, Miles, must appeal to their leader to start his uprising.

* ''WebOriginal/HamstersParadise'': As the name suggests, the matriarch harmsters live in societies dominated by the [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership most vicious females]]. The reason this particular species has female leaders is because they are significantly [[MoreDeadlyThanTheMale larger and more aggressive than the males]] as a result of living on the isolated continent of Mesoterra which is home to the [[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast maniacal ripperoo]], a deadly predator that is also the primitive ancestor to the all harmsters, favoring bigger females able to fight them off. The lead female is also the only one allowed to breed in her tribe with any children of other females being killed, the only way for a new female to be able to reproduce is to [[KlingonPromotion kill the current leader]]. The exact treatment of the smaller, more numerous males varies from culture to culture: the militant Hamazons treat them with as utterly expendable, the fanatical Ripper Sisterhood have them conditioned to be mindlessly self-sacrificing and the pragmatic Badland Bandits still have female leaders but don't abuse their males to seeing it as needlessly wasteful.

* ''Film/Barbie2023'' portrays Barbieland as one of these, as the Barbies hold all positions of authority while the Kens are relegated to second-class citizens. [[spoiler:After the main Barbie and Ken [[RefugeeFromTVLand experience the real world]], Ken becomes inspired to try to remake Barbieland to how it "should" be and instigates a rebellion that leads to a role reversal. The film ends with Barbie TalkingTheMonsterToDeath and apologizing to Ken for her mistreatment of him, with Barbieland striving to become more equal.]]

* This version often appear´s in {{harem}}-series (and {{ecchi}} in general), especially in isekai story´s.

* The [[WitchSpecies Dathomirians]] in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' lived in tribal clans segregated by gender, with the male Nightbrothers being subservient to the Nightsisters. Nightsisters' treatment of them was often cruel, relegating them to being their servants, bodyguards, and [[ConceiveAndKill breeding stock (until the Sisters feel their usefulness is at an end)]]. Although mostly obedient, the Nightbrothers often had a great kinship with one another and constantly sought to protect one another from the whims and demands of the Nightsisters.

** Most of the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Drow]] live in a matriarchal theocracy ruled by a scantily clad priestess caste. ChaoticEvil and with whips. Poisonous snake-whips [[EvilWeapon animated and imbued with low-grade sentience]] of bound imps, at that.

* Spotted hyenas are probably the most well known example. The females are bigger and more aggressive than the males, and (usually, see below [[note]] Spotted hyenas are still classified as matriarchal because this is the most common situation even though exceptions exist.[[/note]]) dominate them. Male hyenas will often rank even below female cubs. Higher-ranking hyenas take precedence over all food, so if there is not enough to go around, the males are often the first to go hungry, or eat the less choice foods such as bones and scraps. [[note]] Spotted hyenas are one of the rare animals that can eat and digest bones, though they seem to prefer organs and flesh [[/note]].

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In the episode "Angel One", there is a society where men have fewer social rights than women. The men are also the fairer sex, smaller, weaker, hairless, wear soft cloths, and use perfume.

* The gender-flip alternate universe in ''Series/RedDwarf'' is an amusingly exact patriarchy flip, complete with Wilma Shakespeare, Nellie Armstrong, magazines full of 'deformed' blokes who make Rimmer feel rather inadequate, and 'boring masculinists'. The female Rimmer and Lister have the exact same neuroses as the ones we're used to - the only deviation is the Cat's counterpart, who's still male but a Dog.
* The [[RubberForeheadAliens Drahvin]] in the William Hartnell-era ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "Galaxy 4" are confused when the Doctor calls them 'women', asking what one is. She goes on to explain that they do have such a thing as 'men', but only as many as they need and the rest are killed ("they consume food and have minimal function"). The Doctor seems to consider this to just be their culture, but Steven is (reasonably) upset with the idea - he complains several times that the Drahvin's refusal to listen to his point of view is sexist, even accusing them of wanting to kill him because of his sex.
* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': The Kingdom of Melromarc is of matriarchal line, so the Queen has higher authority than her husband, and crimes against women are very frowned upon. A plot point is that at the beginning of the story, the Queen is absent because she's had to deal with a pretty big diplomatic mess caused by the King, and she resolves to set things right once she's back.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': The protagonist Leon is reborn as a poor rural BlueBlood noble in a setting where men unmarried by 20 are considered [[OldMaid past expiration]] and thus used as CannonFodder or just worked like a slave. The noble women as a whole are mostly characterized as SpoiledBrat RichBitch who [[GoldDigger only see men for their earning potential]], using their servants to bully. Married noblemen are [[HenpeckedHusband exploited by their wives]] who live opulently with their BeastMan Exclusive Servants in the capitol (with said servants being their de facto gigolos), and possibly other lovers, while the men usually take on TheMistress and live separately. The system came about due to a centralist GovernmentConspiracy to keep the lower noble's money near the capitol where it could be taxed, and to rein in their constant warlordism. Commoners are noted to be more normal. The system ends up being reformed partially due to its [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere disastrous effects on soldiers' morale.]]
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In the world of ''Webcomic/GiftsOfWanderingIce'' women are in charge. Men can be become clan leaders too, but only if they prove clearly that they understand the value of human life as well as a woman who raised a child does. There were very few male chiefs.

* The Koda are depicted this way in ''ComicBook/{{Gen 13}}''. They are scantily clad, lick blood from the bare skin of their Kerubim leader, and are insatiable in the bedroom with "poor" Grunge.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Sliders}}, "Love Gods," sees most of the men in the world having been killed via germ warfare. Women generally take over society, while the surviving men (at least those with a healthy sperm count) are kept in compounds. The men are to impregnate the best possible women in order to rebuild the population, especially before another country does so (the men that succeed the most are afforded many luxuries). Naturally, when our heroes get there, the male characters are instantly mobbed and taken into custody.
* In "Bound" from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', we learn that those [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Orion "slave" girls]] apparently being the slaves is all a big ruse; actually, it's the Orion ''men'' who are the slaves, with the women [[MindControl running everything]] behind the scenes via their [[LoveIsInTheAir powerful pheromones]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has an episode featuring a race of human-looking women who are Amazons and operate as an all female society. They seduce human men as sperm donors, and then the rapidly growing girl children must kill their father in a coming of age ritual. This causes conflict for Dean, when his daughter Emma comes looking to kill him.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': The protagonist Leon is reborn as a poor rural BlueBlood noble in a setting where men unmarried by 20 are considered a ChristmasCake and thus used as CannonFodder or just worked like a slave. The noble women as a whole are mostly characterized as SpoiledBrat RichBitch who [[GoldDigger only see men for their earning potential]], using their servants to bully. Married noblemen are [[HenPeckedHusband exploited by their wives]] who live opulently with their BeastMan Exclusive Servants in the capitol (with said servants being their de facto gigolos), and possibly other lovers, while the men usually take on TheMistress and live separately. The system came about due to a centralist GovernmentConspiracy to keep the lower noble's money near the capitol where it could be taxed, and to rein in their constant warlordism. Commoners are noted to be more normal. The system ends up being reformed partially due to its [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere disastrous effects on soldiers' morale.]]

* '''Straw Matriarchy:''' A DeadHorseTrope, this is how early philosophers portrayed matriarchies, as a warning against allowing women in power. Women were depicted as fundamentally incapable of governing or utterly evil and castrating in their power-wielding.

* ''WebOriginal/HamstersParadise'': As the name suggests, the matriarch harmsters live in societies dominated by the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority most vicious females]]. The reason this particular species has female leaders is because they are significantly [[MoreDeadlyThanTheMale larger and more aggressive than the males]] as a result of living on the isolated continent of Mesoterra which is home to the [[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast maniacal ripperoo]], a deadly predator that is also the primitive ancestor to the all harmsters, favoring bigger females able to fight them off. The lead female is also the only one allowed to breed in her tribe with any children of other females being killed, the only way for a new female to be able to reproduce is to [[KlingonPromotion kill the current leader]]. The exact treatment of the smaller, more numerous males varies from culture to culture: the militant Hamazons treat them with as utterly expendable, the fanatical Ripper Sisterhood have them conditioned to be mindlessly self-sacrificing and the pragmatic Badland Bandits still have female leaders but don't abuse their males to seeing it as needlessly wasteful.

* ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'''s Queendom is technically a Matriarchy, in that the monarch is always a queen. However, her armies are commanded by her husband, whom she does not choose and is decided by the outcome of a grand tournament. Likewise, the Queen does have executive power but in practice the Senate (which seems to comprised entirely of men) own enough land and have enough soldiers loyal to them that the Queen must play politics in order to avoid them obstructing or dethroning her. The only other women in positions of power in the Queendom are a retired Admiral of the Royal Navy who now serves as mayor of a single town, and the leader of the Queendom's religion, who lives in a small settlement on a remote mountain (and in the case of the latter during the story, it's the Queen's sister, adding a hereditary element to the matriarchy). [[spoiler: In the GoldenEnding, this is on the way to being reformed: the new Queen is still a young teenager, so she's not married: the Commander of her armies is her older brother (the player character), and the Senate is much less poisonous and self-interested.]]