Authoritative Patriarchy

Name

Institution

The State of Patriarchy Today

Patriarchy according to Bell Hooks is a socio-political system that insists men are inherently dominant and have power over everything and everyone especially females (Hooks, 2000). Under this system, men have the right to dominate and control the weak and preserve that dominance (Hassel, Reddinger, & Van Slooten, 2011). This conversation takes a different turn on patriarchy and instead of discussing it traditionally, the paper focuses on the changing spectrum and the threat to this old system.

Feminists have started gaining more power and influence that it is making the dominant males uncomfortable. To illustrate, Greta Thunberg the 16-year-old climate activist with her participation in many climate protests, her address in the United Nations and her influence in many other places generated furious responses from powerful men especially politicians and media personalities (Kramp, 2019). Andrew Bolt an Australian pundit called Thunberg a freakishly influential and deeply troubled girl, Arron Banks a notable figure in the politics of the United Kingdom sent a tweet that appeared to threaten Thunberg saying “freaking yacht accidents do happen in August” in response to the activist’s zero-carbon voyage across the Atlantic (Kramp, 2019). U.S. President trouble also contributed to the issue with sarcasm after the girl made a public statement admonishing world leaders for doing nothing on global warming. In his tweet, Trump said “She seems like a very happy girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” (Kramp, 2019).

These comments were clear evidence of modern men attacking women for having a voice and expressing their interests with boldness in a patriarchal society. In previous generations, men holding positions of power would not have felt the need to use such assaultive remarks. Rather, they would have used strategy to downplay the relevance of an underage braided woman, escorted her away or belittled her influence. But these acts by powerful men suggest that patriarchy may be in transition.

When patriarchy is fully functional, men do not need to justify their right to dominate, they are naturally dominating. When the patriarchy is in perfect form, men do not need to insult women, rather, women and the weak section of society consent to its authoritative protection. But when the system is struggling, men are forced to use different tactics to reclaim their presumed privilege. The recent struggles of patriarchy have emanated from women’s activism and the proliferation of women in Congress. Female leaders in Congress have raised hostility from men and ironically from a section of women against women uncovering its desperate state.

The manifestation of Patriarchal Values

Although the patriarchal system appears shaking and has started the journey to extinction, there are still classic ways in which patriarchy manifests today. The mass media is a significant culprit as it accentuates patriarchal values and thoughts. The media intensifies patricidal ideas through negative coverage of sexual violence such as focusing on how a verdict would impact on the perpetrators rather than the victim like in the famous commentary of the Steubenville rape case- which focused on the impact action would have on the young athletes rather than how the victims life was altered (Serres, 2014). The media is also notorious for promoting gender duplexes. Promoting the continuous objectification of women and discussion on their appearances and body image is another manifestation of a patriarchal system in the media.

In the workforce, men hold more and top leadership positions than women, mostly because they exhibit individual-based leadership and showcase the very traditional male features including being outspoken and rational. In addition, women often do not receive the same compensation as men for the same amount of work and are stuck at lower ranks for long among other prejudices.

Sexual violence is also another huge indicator of a patriarchal system where men make up 99 percent of the people who rape. According to Kokopeli and Lakey (1984), patriarchy gives men the idea that their need for affection and respect can only be fulfilled by expressing masculinity, becoming powerful and violent in the end. This idea also contributes to the huge number of men who stand by and do little to nothing to prevent sexual violence.

Needed Change

Certain changes need to be pursued in order to deal with authoritative patriarchy and should center on challenging the institutions that appear to contribute to it. The conservatives need to change their war on women. Many conservative politicians tend to assert that their policies are not meant to attack women but they have a record in terms of legislation that limits the rights of women. For decades, the conservative party has been fueling this war against women and in recent times it has been ramped up at the state-level especially (Crawley, 2019). These regressive policies need to be faced with ultimate disapproval and the implications of this war properly highlighted.

The other change is holding the media accountable for any activities that appear to enhance patriarchy. This may include male-dominated journalism/movies or sending the blame in the direction of a victim in cases involving sexual violence. The media should be stopped from promoting dominant culture and instead redirected to reflect its views in all types of backgrounds and relationships. In general, emphasizing accountability means that, compelling victims to either avoid or accommodate male aggression is not right and men should be held accountable. The objective should be enabling the interaction between men and women with respect and recognition of mutual humanity.

Another thing that needs to change is society’s modern gender paradigms. Conventional gender paradigms need to be out to a test and thoroughly questioned. Many people especially feminists understand that modern gender paradigms put women at a significant disadvantage. These paradigms are made up of the idea that man is inherently aggressive while females are innately passive. As a matter of fact, this argument has no gender basis. These gender stereotypes inspire women to tolerate males that are violent and respond to “aggressive” women as abnormal. It is time for society to embrace the full range of individuality. The system should change from one that encourages men to express aggression and hold back emotion to one where all sexes are free to express themselves and their feelings and develop an attitude of gentleness and sensitivity to the feelings of fellow men and women.

Additional change that should be adopted to bring down a patriarchal system is challenging the perception of an ideal nuclear family. The last few years have seen a rise in nontraditional family settings although the nuclear family still remains the ideal standard. The problem with this is that the model of the nuclear family is fundamentally patriarchal. The male is placed at the helm and given responsibilities such as the breadwinner, the leader, and the decision-maker. The rest of the members are reduced to subordinates. Children from these settings grow up to internalize sexist ideas of men as natural leaders. In most cases, these children never gain the poise to decide the structure and substance of their lives in the absence of a leader or partner.

Alternative family models enable people to think about gender in new, modern ways. This supports movement beyond destructive power binaries in which an individual has authority at the expense of others in a manner that reduces them to submission.

The Audience

The fight against patriarchy is about erasing the barriers for every individual regardless of gender. It also has a connection to works against white supremacy, sizeism, homophobia and discrimination against any minority group. The fight against patriarchy begins with every individual to end the patriarchal domination of men, women, boys, and girls. The contribution of every citizen means creating a society where love can exist because in one that there is coercion and domination it is not possible. The contribution of men is also as important not only for society but for themselves. Men cannot be able to love themselves or experience genuine love in a culture that is patriarchal because rules of submission are not desirable. If men could embrace feminist thinking and practice which creates emphasis on the significance of common growth and self-actualization in all affiliations, their emotional welfare will be without doubt enhanced. According to Hooks (2000), “A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving.” Grassroots anti-capitalism feminism is significant to the transformation from an oppressive system, either as a conceptual-ideological-political framework or a communal praxis and crusade.

The quest to bring down the patriarchy and its oppressive structures, as well as societies, is central to dealing with the challenges climate change, biodiversity, inadequacy and among others which are deeply rooted and interconnected across societies and environments (Bhatnagar, & Hasan, 2018). Socialists should take the initiative to demand social change that will see the creation of societies based on the sovereignty of the people and the acceptance of their social, environmental, sexual and gender justice. These initiatives include demanding freedom from patriarchal systems and any form of oppression that either take advantage of women or puts little to no value on them as equals.

Women have the greatest role in this because it is obvious that the battle is central to their claim. Through empowerment movements, federations and lobby groups, women should create a holistic political vision of justice and alteration to the system. These groups should increase efforts in support of women in leadership and protagonists such as Thunberg, the little girl with a huge voice. Having female politicians or group members that share the same vision means the chance to dismantle patriarchy from the inside.

Women should not confuse nonparticipation with activism. Phrases like dismantling patriarchy imply that actively becoming part of the action against the oppressive authoritarian structure. Those women that feel they have done enough by not conforming to patriarchal values are absolutely wrong. Although boycotting sexist films and such kind of passive action is a step in the desired direction, it is not an effective way of addressing the sexist problem. Activism on the other will effect action against such an oppressive value.

References

Bhatnagar, D., & Hasan, R. S. (2018, October 31). Dismantle patriarchy for system change. Retrieved from https://www.foei.org/news/system-change-dismantle-patriarchy

Crawley, J. (2019, April 4). Six Ways To Smash The Patriarchy. Retrieved from https://yourdream.liveyourdream.org/2017/06/six-ways-to-smash-the-patriarchy/

Hassel, H., Reddinger, A., & Van Slooten, J. (2011). Surfacing the Structures of Patriarchy: Teaching and Learning Threshold Concepts in Women’s Studies. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(2), n2.

Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Pluto Press.

Kokopeli, B., & Lakey, G. (1984). Leadership for change: Toward a feminist model. New Society Pub.

Kramp, M. (2019, November 14). The Patriarchy Is Getting Mean ? and There’s a Whiff of Desperation. Retrieved from https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/the-patriarchy-is-getting-mean-and-theres-a-whiff-of-desperation/241371/

Serres, D. (2014, January 9). Why Patriarchy Persists (and How We Can Change It). Retrieved from https://organizingchange.org/patriarchy-persists-can-change/