How American Patriarchy Keeps Women From Their Money, Power, and History with Anna Malaika Tubbs

July 14, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2026, after Donald Trump’s re-election, sociologist and historian Anna Malaika Tubbs was not surprised. She had been writing her book Erase: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us for three years and saw the outcome as a predictable swing in a tug-of-war that has defined the United States since its founding. Tubbs argues that most Americans misunderstand both the system they live under and the nature of change itself — and that this misunderstanding is itself a strategic outcome of the system she calls “American patriarchy.”

What American Patriarchy Actually Is

Tubbs defines American patriarchy not as a vague, universal male dominance but as a specific, designed system that emerged from the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Founding Fathers, she explains, were terrified that the revolutionary spirit would spread to women, enslaved people, poor people, and Indigenous nations. Shay’s Rebellion was the inciting event that pushed them to write a stronger Constitution — one that would keep power concentrated in their hands.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:44) **Defining American Patriarchy** - Anna Malaika Tubbs introduces her term for the interlocking systems of sexism, racism, and capitalism baked into the US since 1776.
2 (08:26) **The Blueprint: The Founding Fathers' Intentional Design** - The Constitution was written specifically to protect a hierarchy of power, defining who gets to be treated as human.
3 (15:07) **The Tug of War: Two Sides of American History** - All of American history can be summarized as a conflict between two groups regarding the original social order.
4 (20:32) **The Psychology of Change and the Founding Fathers' Awareness** - The Founding Fathers were not ignorant of other systems; they actively chose patriarchy despite knowing better.
5 (25:58) **Historical Perspective on "Worst It's Ever Been"** - Anna reframes the current political moment as part of a long, ongoing tug-of-war, not a new apocalypse.
6 (31:52) **The Pitfalls of "Kitchen Sinking" Progress** - Demanding everything at once can be counterproductive, but leaving people behind is not the answer either.
7 (36:33) **All Drains Lead to Patriarchy** - Anna argues that patriarchy is the root system from which all other inequalities, including capitalism, are born.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

To work to change a system, you have to understand it first. But as today’s guest will show you, it turns out our understanding of American patriarchy is completely different than what we thought it was. Today I sat down with Anna Malaika Tubbs –– two-time New York Times bestselling author, sociologist, and storyteller with a PhD in sociology and a master's in gender studies from the University of Cambridge, plus a BA from Stanford (whew!) — and we're talking about American patriarchy. We get into why the Founding Fathers and the Constitution are inherently patriarchal, what history actually teaches us about how change happens, and why Anna wasn't surprised by Trump's reelection. I threw out almost every prepared question because this conversation was that good. This episode will make you furious and hopeful in the same breath.

Anna’s links:

Website: https://annamalaikatubbs.com/

Erased by Anna Malaike Tubbs: https://bookshop.org/a/90037/9781250876690

The Three Mothers by Anna Malaika Tubbs: https://bookshop.org/a/90037/9781250756138

Also mentioned in this episode:

Steve Phillips, How We Win the Civil War: https://bookshop.org/a/90037/9781620978481

Sarah McBride on Why the Left Lost on Trans Rights | The Ezra Klein Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlbNFsAGFRc

Bookshop.org website: http://Bookshop.org

Not sure what to do with your money? Visit ⁠https://herfirst100k.com/ffpod⁠ and take our FREE Money Plan Quiz to get your personalized money plan, and find any resources mentioned on our show

00:00 Intro

01:40 What "American patriarchy" actually means

06:37 The Founding Fathers' blueprint

15:21 The tug-of-war at the center of all American history

19:19 Why Trump's re-election wasn't a surprise

25:10 How slow progressive change actually works

31:55 Do all roads lead back to patriarchy?

36:04 "We haven't arrived anywhere new"

45:28 Moving rights to the states: a repeating tactic

52:48 Can you get rich in a system that wasn't built for you?

58:51 The power you already have

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