The Creation of Patriarchy is a non-fiction book written by Gerda Lerner in 1986 as an explanation for the origins of misogyny in ancient Mesopotamia and the following Western societies.

She traces the "images, metaphors, [and] myths" that lead to patriarchal concepts' existence in Western society (Lerner 10).

Lerner also argues that the widespread existence of misogyny in societies is not due to biological or psychological differences between males and females, but rather that it has historical explanations.

Each chapter traces a different aspect of "the development of the leading ideas, symbols, and metaphors by which patriarchal gender relations were incorporated into Western civilization (Lerner 10).

[7] A different critic, journalist Nancy Barnes, stated: "The book is a tremendous achievement, which will serve us all in useful and provocative ways.