Colleen Barry NYC Artist

William Zorach Sculpture and Camille Paglia on the Mother Tribe

Added 2025-02-16 22:12:36 +0000 UTC

Camille Paglia, a cultural critic and feminist scholar, has written extensively about gender, art, and society. In her work, she often discusses the differences between male and female roles, particularly in terms of how women and men interacted within early human societies. One of her key ideas is that women formed tight-knit "tribes" or groups while men were more often involved in individual pursuits, like hunting.

Here are two quotes I found from Paglia’s writings and lectures regarding motherhood, female solidarity, and the division of labor in early human societies:

"The tribe of women is a tight collective, a group that survives because of the solidarity of women who care for their children and each other. The men are off hunting, but the women hold the social fabric together."
This quote reflects Paglia’s perspective on the essential role women played in creating and maintaining the cohesion of early human societies. She contrasts this with the male pursuit of individualistic tasks, such as hunting.
"The survival of the species depends on the mother-child bond. Women’s tribal solidarity is an expression of their ability to form networks of care that are stronger than the male's sense of individual achievement."
In this statement, Paglia underscores the central role of motherhood and female cooperation in ensuring the survival of both the family and, by extension, the community. The emphasis is on the nurturing and collective nature of women, as opposed to the often solitary nature of male roles.

Paglia's views on this topic argue that women’s roles have historically been about maintaining communal and familial ties, whereas men, in her analysis, were often focused on more independent, survival-oriented activities like hunting or fighting. While these views are controversial and subject to debate, they reflect Paglia’s broader ideas about the difference between male and female energy and roles in society.