Since ancient times, patriarchy has been a social system that has been implemented in every aspect of our lives, subtracting power from the female gender and highlighting inequality that for many years has characterized society.
This system, in which complete authority and power is given to man in different areas, has been the cause of countless violations of women’s rightswho even have various freedoms oppressed, as well as participation in economic, social or political powers.
The debate on this oppressive social system has been carried out at different times, reaching its point of greatest visibility during the 20th century, when different feminist movements initiated actions to guarantee the fulfillment of women’s rights, in a society in which that their oppression and domination by the male gender was normalized.
Today, the global fight for feminist movements continues to achieve a world in which the patriarchal system is completely rejectedand women can finally be free to live their lives as they see fit, accessing the same rights that any individual may have, without any gender distinction.
In this article we analyze a little about the definition of patriarchy as a global systemhow this oppressive ideology originated and how it manifests itself in today’s society.
What is patriarchy?
Patriarchy is a form of social and legal organization that bases its principles on the possession of authority by menmaintaining a system in which the male gender usually has superiority in different aspects.
Through her book ‘The Creation of Patriarchy’, the American historian Gerda Lerner defines this system as “the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children of the family and the expansion of that domain over women in society in general.”
Historically, men have always been the figure associated with money, power, business and goods, while women are associated with weakness, housework, caregivers, etc.
This type of oppressive system has been established in various organizations, such as the great industries of the world and religionincluding in many families in which the rule that the man is “the head of the home” has been normalized.
What is the origin of patriarchy?
The word ‘patriarchy’ comes from ‘patriarch’, which in turn comes from the ancient Greek ‘patér’ (father) and ‘arkhé’ (authority). That is, it literally means paternalistic authoritarianism. This term began to be used in the 70s by feminist studies that referred to a system in which men exercised power over women in terms of freedoms, rights, economic, social or political power.
Now, to delve a little into the history of humanity and discover how patriarchy became an oppressive system that little by little entered the family customs of all communities worldwide, it is necessary to consult the various theories around this topic.
One of the most popular has been the one mentioned by the author Gerda Lerner, who in the same book ‘The Creation of Patriarchy’, explains that patriarchy is a relatively recent system andand originates in the so-called “old world”, during the Neolithic revolutionwhen the first States began to form, that is, about 10 thousand years ago.
However, there are other studies that differ with Lerner’s theory, maintaining that patriarchy has been a system that has probably been present for much of human history, establishing it as a “natural” fact that has been present even since primitive societies.
What are the social ideas of patriarchy based on?
Patriarchy bases its ideas on separation and segregation of people by their sex, gender and gender identity. These three concepts, although they may be related to each other, represent different parts of each person.
There are many people who consider sex, gender, and gender identity to be aligned, while others do not. To understand it better, below we leave you the meaning of these three concepts, according to the website of :
- Sex: Clinical label usually established based on genes, hormones, and body parts (such as genitals). This tag is included on your birth certificate and describes your body as female or male. Some people’s sex does not fit the labels feminine or masculine. When this happens, it is called intersex.
- Gender: It is a legal status. It refers to the way society believes we should look, think, and act. Each culture has its beliefs and informal rules about How people should act based on their gender. For example, many cultures believe that men should be more aggressive than women and encourage them to be so.
- Gender identity: Gender identity is how you feel inside and how you express your gender through the way you dress, behave and your personal appearance.
The gender separation and segregation of patriarchy accepts only two sexes: the feminine and the masculine.
The female sex is established as a “passive” sex which must be dedicated to private activities such as home and familyfulfilling the forced role of parent and caregiver, while the male sex is the “dominant”, and must dedicate themselves to public activities such as positions of power and leadership in politics, the community, religion and the world of work, maintaining a complete control over the economy.
How is the patriarchal system characterized in today’s society?
The practices and customs of patriarchy can be noticed in almost any social sphere in which men clearly enjoy greater benefits than women, even in cases where a woman may have more professional training.
Some main characteristics of patriarchy As a social custom they are the following:
Economic violence
This is one of the main characteristics of patriarchy and is usually noticed in families in which the woman does not have authority in financial decisionsor even their work earnings are managed by a man to fulfill the role of “head of household.”
The It can cause serious damage to a woman’s psychological health. Today, although progress has been made in women’s financial autonomy in various places around the world, there are still many cases of women who are subjected by their husbands to this type of abuse, often encouraged by cultural beliefs and /or religious.
Imbalance in work and domestic activities
Most of the time, women are ‘overexploited’ in their work and they also tend to work long hours at home. Different studies worldwide indicate that, if we take into account the professional work of women, which is paid, and the domestic work that they usually perform, Women produce surplus labor compared to men.
This imbalance in work and home tasks and responsibilities is one of the most notable characteristics of a patriarchal system based on the sexual division of labor, that is, a distribution of tasks between men and women, in which it is established that Women are dedicated “by nature” to domestic activities, and men to productive and commercial activity.
Partial or total absence of women’s rights
Although in the Western world women, thanks to their constant struggle over the years, have managed to considerably expand their rights in areas such as education, politics and the economy, there are still many places in the world where women are subjected to cultural customs that completely undermine their rights.
In areas of the Middle East and Africa, for example, women’s rights are quite scarce, especially in those societies that are governed by extremist religious beliefs, where even today practices such as .
Physical, sexual, moral and/or cultural violence
Most of the time the ideas established by patriarchy give way to situations of physical, sexual, moral and/or cultural violencea product of the beliefs of superiority of men over women.
Physical violence is usually experienced especially in couple and marital life when it gives way to domestic violence. In the case of sexual violence, there are situations of against women, as well as cases of genital mutilation.
On the other hand, moral violence is represented by insults and humiliation towards womenwhile cultural violence is that represented in myths, legends and religious beliefs.
An example of cultural violence occurs in the ‘Baruya’, a population of New Guinea where men consider breast milk not as a female product, but as a transformation of the man’s sperm. That is, they see the woman as a ‘vehicle’ to feed the babies, considering that the man is the one who really nourishes the newborns.
Are we near the end of patriarchy?
There are many studies that affirm that, thanks to the constant struggle of feminist movements in the world, which in the last century have gained much more strength, Over the next few decades, patriarchy could come to an endafter being a widespread system in society for more than 10,000 years.
In today’s world, great progress has already been made in terms of respect for women’s rights. News such as the election of the first woman to the position of Vice President of the United States: Kamala Harris, the decriminalization of abortion in countries such as Colombia, Argentina and Mexico, are examples of how the constant struggle of feminist movements for freedom, justice and equal rights has given good results.
However, as we mentioned before, there are still many places in the world where women are subjected to systematic violations of their main rights, so there is still much to do to achieve a world of equality and justice in which all people can have access to the same rights.
In fact, according to published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2019, it will take approximately 100 more years to close the gender gap that marks the inequality that is currently experienced in many parts of the world.
How do we combat the oppression of patriarchy in Yo Digo No Más?
At Yo Digo No Más we are aware of the long road we still have to go to achieve a society in which women’s rights are truly respected in all aspects, especially the essential right to life, health and non-violence.
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