WHAT IS PATRIARCHY?
The term patriarchy comes from a Greek word that means ¨the rule of the father¨. In our modern times, patriarchy is used to define how different forms of power and privilege are dominated by men, and women are excluded from it. The fact that men have more power than women implies that important decisions are made without taking women's interests into account. In a patriarchal society, masculinity has more social value than femininity.
WHERE AND WHEN DO WE SEE PATRIARCHY HAPPEN?
Everywhere and everyday! Patriarchy shapes the world we live in because it has existed for thousands of years. The idea of gender equality is a relatively recent phenomenon developed in the twentieth century. Although modern women have overcome many of the barriers their grandmothers had to put up with, there are still many social rules, beliefs, and even laws that put men in a situation of advantage.
The tricky part of patriarchy is that we all are born and raised into a patriarchal society, which makes us very used to it. Sometimes we can tell right away that women are treated unequally, others we don't even notice it until we really think about it.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF PATRIARCHY?
Patriarchy influences the way we understand education, culture, interpersonal relationships, work, politics, and everything you can think of. Sometimes we hear that in our modern society women and men are equals. The problem is that that this equality often means that anyone other than white heterosexual men is expected to adjust to a world that is constructed from a traditionally "male" perspective.
For instance, we say that women and men are able to hold the same jobs. However we live in a world in which prestigious jobs demand long work hours that are not compatible with raising children or household activities, which are traditionally seen as female occupations.
Patriarchy may initially seem like a great deal for men. The truth is that the injustice of a patriarchal world is hurtful to us all, because it promotes inequality, ruthless competition and social injustice. Patriarchies value characteristics seen as traditionally male, among theme things like aggression and lack of emotion. (See Masculinity in Crisis for more info.) Functioning in a society that lacks a balanced approach towards leadership and values doesn't sound like such a great idea to a lot of people.
The term patriarchy comes from a Greek word that means ¨the rule of the father¨. In our modern times, patriarchy is used to define how different forms of power and privilege are dominated by men, and women are excluded from it. The fact that men have more power than women implies that important decisions are made without taking women's interests into account. In a patriarchal society, masculinity has more social value than femininity.
WHERE AND WHEN DO WE SEE PATRIARCHY HAPPEN?
Everywhere and everyday! Patriarchy shapes the world we live in because it has existed for thousands of years. The idea of gender equality is a relatively recent phenomenon developed in the twentieth century. Although modern women have overcome many of the barriers their grandmothers had to put up with, there are still many social rules, beliefs, and even laws that put men in a situation of advantage.
The tricky part of patriarchy is that we all are born and raised into a patriarchal society, which makes us very used to it. Sometimes we can tell right away that women are treated unequally, others we don't even notice it until we really think about it.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF PATRIARCHY?
Patriarchy influences the way we understand education, culture, interpersonal relationships, work, politics, and everything you can think of. Sometimes we hear that in our modern society women and men are equals. The problem is that that this equality often means that anyone other than white heterosexual men is expected to adjust to a world that is constructed from a traditionally "male" perspective.
For instance, we say that women and men are able to hold the same jobs. However we live in a world in which prestigious jobs demand long work hours that are not compatible with raising children or household activities, which are traditionally seen as female occupations.
Patriarchy may initially seem like a great deal for men. The truth is that the injustice of a patriarchal world is hurtful to us all, because it promotes inequality, ruthless competition and social injustice. Patriarchies value characteristics seen as traditionally male, among theme things like aggression and lack of emotion. (See Masculinity in Crisis for more info.) Functioning in a society that lacks a balanced approach towards leadership and values doesn't sound like such a great idea to a lot of people.
