The author Nina J. Crimm recalls a newspaper article of an ethnographic study of a matrilineal society, Vanatinai. Ideologies of male superiority are non-existent in Vanatinai, thus illustrating that female subordination is not inevitable. Crimm goes on to describe the various abuses women face in many societies – physical injury, mental injury, and denial of basic political, civil, and legal rights. She applauds several societies that have progressed in achieving gender equality but quickly mentions others that have regressed.