I was trying to defend our sex when I heard some of the typical male comments...
"Tell me in what society are the women heads of the family?"
"Men will never let a women become president in THIS lifetime"
"Just face it, there may be many strong, independent, intelligent women (and some are even leaders) but men will always rule."

Also, is it true that there is an opposite to polygamy -- that there are women with many husbands anywhere in the world. Please tell me this exists and I can shut someone up. Thanks.

Thanks for your note to FEMINIST.COM--and, yes, there are a few remaining matriarchal cultures. For instance, in South Africa there is the Lovadu and in southern India--Kerala, there is also a matriarchal culture. I'm sure there are others as well.

There are also hints at a matriarchal culture within more traditional cultures. For instance, Native American tribes present a more eqalitarian way of life. And in Ghana, the tribes are matriarchal in terms of how lineage and inheritance is passed down. That said, however, these cultures are by no means the "reverse" of patriarchal cultures--meaning that men have much more to gain from matriarchal cultures than women have to gain from patriarchal ones.

As for "women ruling"--if you look around the world--women are/have been rulers of other countries--Pakistan, Israel, England... Also, remind your friend that there was a time when people said that women wouldn't be professional athletes--now we have the WNBA, Tennis players, and we're on our way to having a professional women's soccer league.

The opposite of polygamy is polyandry, but it's not practiced, so it's irrelevant.

—Amy