The Brotherhood of Freemason Sisters

Book excerpt: This “stupendous ethnography of female Freemasonry in Italy” reveals the fascinating paradox of elitism and exclusion experienced by “female brothers” (Michael Herzfeld, author of Evicted from Eternity). From its cryptic images on the dollar bill to Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, the Freemasons have long been one of the most romanticized secret societies in the world. But a simple fact escapes most depictions of this elite brotherhood: there are also female members. In this groundbreaking ethnography, Lilith Mahmud takes readers inside Masonic lodges of contemporary Italy, where she observes the ritualistic and fraternal bonds forged among Freemason women. Offering a tantalizing look behind lodge doors, The Brotherhood of Freemason Sisters unveils a complex culture of discretion in which Freemasons reveal some truths and hide others. Female initiates—one of Freemasonry’s best-kept secrets—are often upper class and highly educated, yet avowedly antifeminist. Their self-cultivation through the Masonic path is an effort to embrace the deeply gendered ideals of fraternity. In this lively investigation, Mahmud unravels the contradictions at the heart of Freemasonry: an organization responsible for many of the egalitarian concepts of the Enlightenment and yet one that has always been, and in Italy still remains, extremely exclusive. The result is not only a thrilling look at a surprisingly influential world, but a reevaluation of the modern values we now take for granted