Broadly speaking, feminism gathers these structures under the label patriarchy or male dominance. A term used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to. I shall define patriarchy as a system of social structures and practices in. Patriarchy is the single most lifethreatening social disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation. Such an approach centers feminism on the perspective of the subordination of women to men as it identifies sex, that is, the sexuality of. Within feminist theory, use of the term patriarchy has lead to the politicization of discussion of gender relations, enabling gender relations to be understood as predicated on inequalities of power. Comments on my blog posts and daily kos diary, both agreeing and disagreeing with my statements. I shall define patriarchy as a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit womenthe use of the term social structures is important here, since it clearly implies rejection both of biological determinism, and the notion that. Patriarch father of a tribe, the name given to the head of a family or tribe in old testament times. Virginia woolf introduced this term in a room of ones own 1929 to indicate the creative mentality that partakes of both masculine andro and feminine gyno qualities. Usually, in a matriarchal society gender roles are often blurred and sometimes completely switched to where the women have all the power and the men take their wives last names.
Some patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage. Thus, the author defines patriarchy in pragmatic terms. What exactly is imperialist white supremacist capitalist. Yet most men do not use the word patriarchy in everyday life. In part ii, i describe the two dominant notions of sex equality in legal circles. Family is a primary group of people usually related by ancestor, marriage, or adoption who form a cooperative economic unit to care for any offspring and each other, and who are committed to maintain the group over time. Use of the term the following discussions of the term patriarchy took place on wmstl in may 1994 and march 2003. A social system in which the father is the head of the family. Cultural parameters theory of sexism and racism in and by the state.
Terms in this set 8 what is the literal meaning of patriarchy. In common usage the title of patriarch is assigned especially to those whose lives are recorded in scripture previous to the time of moses, as adam, abraham, isaac and jacob. Because the term is conceptual, it cannot refer to a specific person or group of people. The concept of patriarchy itself is not a contribution of feminist theories. Male survivors of child sexual abuseviolence and feminism, a beginning. The main cause of womens and childrens oppression is patriarchy.
Patriarchy article about patriarchy by the free dictionary. It seems unnecessarily limiting to maintain that we cannot call a society patriarchal the definition of valuing men more highly than women even if said society had no way of conceptualizing of gender differences in that way. Patriarchy definition, a form of social organization in which the father is the supreme authority in the family, clan, or tribe and descent is reckoned in the male line, with the children belonging to the fathers clan or tribe. In patriarchy, virtues associated with the masculine are elevated in comparison to those associated with the feminine. It was argued that patriarchy was a worldwide system which reduced women to the status of housewives and made them dependent on men.
Patriarchy is a system in which men have all or most of the power and importance in a society or group. The bogeyman that feminists blame for womens problems or underachievements because their biggirl pants apparently dont fit. Some patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title. Working definition the systematic domination of women by men in some or all of societys spheres and institutions origins of the concept ideas of male dominance have a very long history, with many religions presenting it as natural and necessary. Patriarchy is a system in which men have all or most of the power and importance in a. When modern historians and sociologists describe a patriarchal society, they mean that men hold the positions of power and have more privilege. Patriarchy definition of patriarchy by the free dictionary. For additional wmstl files available on the web, see the wmstl file collection. Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. Patriarchy is the term many feminists use for our society, referring to differences between mens and womens status, condition, and treatment. However seeing as women are free to pursue any career they want, own any property they wish, attend any college they desire, are owning businesses and running corporations, actively involved in political power, engineering and science, are protected from. These examples are from the cambridge english corpus and from sources on the web. I have an ambivalent relationship with the word patriarchy and yet i bandy. Womens productive labor remains under valued in the workplace, making them dependent on the ara collins, wilson the international division of.
It is difficult to define either term, but here are some suggestions. The book, written from the female perspective, is part of the theorizing feminism series published by stree an imprint of bhatkal and sen. Sexism, prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender, especially against women and girls. Information and translations of patriarchy in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. But for many feminists, patriarchy is much more than civilizations that existed in the ancient past and goes beyond the unequal distribution of power between men and women in certain aspects of our societies, as many dictionaries still define it.
Chapter i introducing patriarchy and gender history in todays world, there has been a lot of study on gender and gender roles in the society. What is patriarchy definition of patriarchy define. How can you explain these discussions to people who are not immersed in them. Patriarchy definition of patriarchy by merriamwebster. Matriarchy definition, a family, society, community, or state governed by women.
Patriarchy literally means rule of the fathers and comes from the old testamentall power was given to male elders. A patriarchy is a social system in which family systems or entire societies are organized around the idea of fatherrule, where males are the primary authority figures. This concept of patriarchy was developed to explain male dominance as a. Feminists want to dismantle the patriarchy, she said. You might be a postmodernist or a poststructuralist if you use the cultural approach and if one or more of the following apply to you. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the cambridge dictionary editors or of cambridge university press or its licensors. Psychotherapist john bradshaws clearsighted definition of patriarchy in creating love is a useful one.
A family, community, or society based on this system or. Matriarchy definition is a family, group, or state governed by a matriarch. Feminist theory the male breadwinner has been absorbed in the workplace patriarchy. Patriarchal society definition of patriarchal society by.
In this type of system men hold authority over women, children and property, leading to female subordination. Patriarchy is made up of structures or institutions that exclude women from participation in, or contact with, spaces of higher power, or what are believed to be the spaces of greatest power economically, politically. The dictionary defines patriarchy as a social organization marked by the supremacy of. Patriarchy definition is social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line. Although the term patriarchy is loosely used to stand for male domination, as has been pointed out above, it more crucially means as others have stated here. Modern patriarchy, especially as exercised within the nuclear family rather than wider society. Literally means rule of the father the legal authority granted by roman law to male heads of households. On the contrary, most forms of feminism characterize patriarchy as a present day. A patriarchal society consists of a maledominated power structure throughout organized society and in individual relationships. In modern american culture and society, the idea of patriarchy is not as. You are intellectually or politically attracted to big structures like capitalism or patriarchy, but you also believe that big. Many men in our nation would not be able to spell the word or pronounce it correctly.
The term patriarchy is very old, first applied to the male leaders of the tribes of israel whose power was based on kinship not contract. Patriarchy and inequality chicago unbound university of chicago. This might easily happen with the other terms, which have the tendency to conceal and to belittle. Although its origin is unclear, the term sexism emerged from the secondwave feminism of the 1960s through the 80s and was most likely modeled on the civil right movements term racism. So patriarchy does not refer to a simple binary pattern of male power over women, but power exerted more complexly by age as well as gender, and by older men. Christ discusses her new multipronged definition of patriarchy as an integral system. In other words, a person cannot be imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. A glossary of womens studies terms androgynous mind. This page is a short explanation of why i dont use the term.
Women can be as wedded to patriarchal thinking and action as men. Pdf in this chapter, the author explores different definitions of. Matriarchy meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. I throw the term patriarchy around a lot in my blog posts and facetoface discussions and it often feels like most people cant even process the word, dont even want to attempt to go there. As the studies progressed it was found that most of the societies in the world are dominated.
Patriarchy literally means rule of the father, today it is a term that refers to social systems where power is concentrated in the hands of adult men. Patriarchal society synonyms, patriarchal society pronunciation, patriarchal society translation, english dictionary definition of patriarchal society. A patriarchal social system can be defined as a system where men are in authority over women in all aspects of society. Perhaps the term patriarchy the unequal share of power society accords to men and male concerns may seem oldfashioned. Patriarchy is embedded in systems of education, healthcare, economic. Patriarchy is believed to have originated in the e arliest times as a result of the biological constraints. Geetha, an academic activist and author on the subject of patriarchy in india. What is a patriarchal society and how does it relate to feminism. A type of government, or a society, where women are in charge. A feminist glossary because we didnt all major in gender studies. Patriarchy and inequality in part i, i describe the patriarchal social structure that is our core problem.
To use the term matriarchy in its redefined, clarified meaning is also of political relevance. Most men never think about patriarchywhat it means, how it is created and sustained. A patriarchy, from the ancient greek patriarches, was a society where power was held by and passed down through the elder males. Pateman 1988 says that this changed in response to. See also the related file from 2006, teaching about patriarchy. The first theoretical account of patriarchy is found in engels theory of womens subservience under. Matriarchy definition of matriarchy by merriamwebster. One of the reasons for this can be attributed to feminists who studied women visavis men in the society. Patriarchy is associated with a set of ideas, a patriarchal ideology that acts to explain and justify this dominance and attributes it to inherent natural differences between men and women. Patriarchy has remained a relatively undefined concept and some feminist scholars are at unease with the use of the concept of patriarchy when it involves the notion of a general system of inequality. Patriarchy meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Patriarchy is a system, which provides material advantages to males while placing constraints on the roles and activities of females and ensures their conformity with particular gender roles aina, 1998. A feminist glossary because we didnt all major in gender. Patriarchy definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
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