Göttner-Abendroth was born during World War II, and at the age of 12 moved with her parents from East Germany to West Germany. She has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Munich and worked as a teacher in philosophy at Munich University from 1973-1983. She became active in second-wave feminism from 1976 and came to be considered one of the pioneers of women's studies in West Germany at the time. Göttner-Abendroth describes increased conflict with other academics over her theories. This struggle for mainstream academic acceptance of Matriarchal Studies is the subject of Edition Amalia's Die Diskriminierung der Matriarchatsforschung: Eine moderne Hexenjagd, a collection of essays from various scholars within the emerging field. The chapter by Göttner-Abendroth is expressively titled as 'Prevent them by all means!' The discrimination against modern matriarchy research and its practical consequences. In her extended online biography, Göttner-Abendroth describes separation from the University of Munich as less than agreeable: "Given that she was prevented from continuing to lecture at the University, she works as an independent scholar in a precarious and difficult financial situation." Nonetheless she persisted in her research and writing. In 1986 she founded the International Academy for Modern Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality in 1986. In 1992 she served as a visiting professor at the University of Innsbruck Austria and received funding from the University of Bremen. In the years since 1998 she has been active in the ”Institute of Archaeomythology,” based in California, and began to publish books on mythology and matriarchy through HAGIA or through independent publishers. Between 2003-2011, Göttner-Abendroth's research into matriarchal society had an increasingly international focus, as her conception of Matriarchal Studies began to focuse on its relationship to indigenous studies and the direct input and involvement of indigenous peoples. This global outlook led to a series of international conferences on the nature and purpose of Matriarchal Studies, each year including progressively more participants from existing non-Western matriarchal cultures. The 2012 publication of Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Across the Globe, marked the degree of change in Göttner-Abendroth relationship to mainstream academia: it was the first time one of her books had been accepted through scholarly peer review with an international academic publisher, Peter Lang. The publisher touted the book as "the results of Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s pioneering research in the field of modern matriarchal studies, based on a new definition of «matriarchy» as true gender-egalitarian societies. Accordingly, matriarchal societies should not be regarded as mirror images of patriarchal ones, as they have never needed patriarchy’s hierarchical structures of domination. On the contrary, matriarchal patterns are socially egalitarian, economically balanced, and politically based on consensus decisions. They have been created by women and are founded on maternal values. This new perspective on matriarchal societies is developed step by step by the analysis of extant indigenous cultures in Asia, Africa, and the Americas." In 2014 Göttner-Abendroth was tagged by Oxford University Press as the co-editor-in-chief for the "Matriarchal Studies" section of Oxford Bibliographies., along with Senacan scholar Dr. Barbara Alice Mann. The two continue in this role as of 2020.
Relationship to Matriarchal Studies and Academy Hagia
Modern Matriarchal Studies stands in the tradition of 1970s second wave feminism, pioneered by Merlin Stone's When God Was a Woman. Göttner-Abendroth founded the "International Academy for Modern Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality" in 1986. It aims to combine the "intellectual, political, artistic, and spiritual" in its events, which range from "Matriarchal Mystery Festivals" to international academic conferences. In her role as HAGIA Director, Göttner-Abendroth organized three World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies, in 2003, 2005, and 2011. Since 2014 Göttner-Abendroth has served as one of two editors in charge of Oxford University Press's "Oxford Bibliographies" project listing for Matriarchal Studies. This publication aims to provide an authoritative listing of historical and contemporary sources related to Matriachal Studies, and includes annotations and commentary.
