Say Hi to Matricor & Our Next Two Books
Socials | Newsletters & Reading Circle | How to Build Up from this Rubble
A New Edition Arrives \^o^/
Matricor: Matriarchal Policy | Theory | Practice joins the Medusa Rising mothership!! We're all yearning for a deep shift, dreaming a way out of patriarchy's necrocapitalism and rapacious extraction. But what to do? What to fertilize? What to tend? What to let wither? Can we get comfortable enough with uncertainty to give the answers the seasons they need? How do we collaborate fluidly enough to adapt as we go?
Lila Laponi, PhD, anchors Matricor. She is a feminist medical anthropologist, educator, and public policy researcher whose career was dedicated to advancing women’s health at all levels of public service. Her work in epidemiology and public policy lends a deep understanding of interconnection among systems. Her life's work explores what makes us human while actively challenging the structures of hierarchy and patriarchy. She’s the admin at r/MatriarchyNow! and contributes to Matriarchy Civilization on Substack. Working with Medusa Rising, Lila synthesizes the structural mechanisms of both historical and contemporary matriarchies to develop local and national public policies. She means to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and modern governance, focusing on environmental stewardship and egalitarian leadership. Outside of her writing and research, you can usually find Lila managing a neighborhood cat colony, building a permaculture garden, knitting, or making pizza for neighbors.
Readers can expect posts exploring:
Living Matriarchies: Field-based insights into contemporary matriarchal societies. Grounded in the etymology of matri (matrix/womb; embodying care and compassion) and arche (first principles), she analyzes the comprehensive living models of indigenous societies such as the Mosuo, Minangkabau, Khasi, Haudenosaunee, Pima, and Wayuu.
Ancient Systems: Structural analysis of archaeological evidence examining the technologies, social frameworks, and cultural practices of matrilineal and goddess-reverencing cultures.
We begin with people. How do matriarchies think about human beings, what are the habits of matriarchal humans, how do they organize and celebrate? How gender-chill are they? We are not (yet) those people. We are still patriarchal peoples who have a lot to learn, relearn, and invent. Our cultures cling to debilitating concepts of 'man the hunter' and 'boss girls', as if setting toxicities in tension solves our problems. Neither collective violence nor mastery of necrocapitalism will open the way to a humane, pro-social, and livable future. So, then, how?
Look for Matricor in your inboxes on November 12.
... and coming in 2027, a new pod series on fantasy fiction, matriarchy, and popular culture.
To the Reading Circle (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
We get it. Time is our most precious resource. If you can give yourself a little time over the next months, we would love to you to read these two books. Then come talk about and around them in Reading Circle.
Medusa Rising
Imbolc-ish | 8 Feb 2027
Carol Gilligan, The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy, Resistances, & Democracy
Beltane| 1 May 2027
Elisha Daeva, Before War: On Marriage, Hierarchy, & Matriarchal Origins
Let's explore, elaborate, critique, and compost.
- What do we need for radmatfems and for women moving forward?
- How does that differ from region to region and culture to culture?
- How do our building projects need to differ across political or social contexts like class and race?
Bring your wild insights and big questions. These conversations tend to range and dive!
Details and videos with the authors at our Events page.
Medusa Rising
