What is patriarchy
I want to get out of this pain
Answers
Answer:
Since the 2016 election in the USA, talk of “Patriarchy” has burst into the public arena. From signs outside coffee shops declaring “Smash the Patriarchy” to a Guardian newspaper’s column “The week in Patriarchy” – the term is definitely in vogue. But what exactly does it mean? What impact does it have on your life? And what role, if any, can therapy play in getting rid of it?
What is Patriarchy?
Patriarchy is a set of cultural rules and values that specify how men and women should be and act. It is based on a belief that men have an inherent right to dominate and that women should be subservient, selfless caregivers. One example of the persistence of this gender hierarchy is America’s ever-growing body of laws restricting women’s reproductive freedom.
This hierarchy polarizes human capacities into “masculine” traits (stoicism, self-reliance, rationality) versus “feminine” attributes (emotional sensitivity, selflessness, relationality). Patriarchy overvalues the masculine, harming men and women by forcing the former to act as if they don’t have or need relationships and the latter to act as if they don’t have or need a self.
Answer:
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. Some patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage.