LESSON 1 ANALYSING STRUCTURES OF PATRIARCHY Patriarchy ----- As A Concept The word patriarchy refers to any form of social power given disproportionately to men. The word patriarchy literally means the rule of the Male or Father. The structure of the patriarchy is always considered the power status of male, authority, control of the male and oppression, domination of the man, suppression, humiliation, sub-ordination and subjugation of the women. Patriarchy originated from Greek word, pater (genitive from patris, showing the root pater- meaning father and arche- meaning rule), is the anthropological term used to define the sociological condition where male members of a society tend to predominates in positions of power, the more likely it is that a male will hold that position. The term patriarchy is also used in systems of ranking male leadership in certain hierarchical churches and ussian orthodox churches. Finally, the term patriarchy is used pejoratively to describe a seemingly immobile and sclerotic political order. The term patriarchy is distinct from patrilineality and patrilocality. Patrilineal defines societies where the derivation of inheritance (financial or otherwise) originates from the father$s line% a society with matrilineal traits such as Judaism, for example, provides, that in order to be considered a Jew, a person must be born of a Jewish mother. Judaism is still considered a patriarchal society. Patrilocal defines a locus of control coming from the father$s geographic/cultural community. Most societies are predominantly patrilineal and patrilocal, but this is not a universal but patriarchal society is characteri)ed by interlocking system of sexual and generational oppression. According to Gerda Lerner, patriarchy means the manifestation and institutionali)ation of male dominance over the children in the family and the extension of male dominance over women in society in general. It implies that men hold power in all the important institutions of society and that women are deprived of access to such power. It does not imply that women are either totally powerless or deprived of rights, influence and resources. ,ne of the most challenging tasks of women$s history is to trace with precision the various forms and modes in which patriarchy appears historically. The shifts and changes in its structure and function, and the adaptations it makes to female pressure and demands. The Encyclopedia of feminist theories defines patriarchy as the hierarchical relations between men and women, manifested in familial and social structure alike, in a descending order from an authoritarian if often times benevolent male head-to-male dominance in personal, political, cultural and social life as well as to patriarchal families where the law of the father prevails.. 1 Lisa, Turtle, Encyclopedia of feminism, Harlow, Long man, 2004 1 Feminists use the concept of patriarchy to describe the power relationship between men and women. The term literally means, rule by the father and can refer narrowly to the supremacy of the husband / father within the family, and therefore to the subordination of his wife and his children. Some feminist employ patriarchy only in this specific and limited sense, to describe the structure of the family and the dominance of the father within preferring to use broader terms such as ‘male supremacy’ or ‘male dominance’ to describe gender relations in society at large. However feminists believe that the dominance of the father within the family symbolizes male supremacy in all other institutions. Kate Millett describe /patriarchal government’ as an institution where by /that half of the populace which is female is controlled by that half which is male.$ 0he suggested that patriarchy contains two principles1 /male shall dominate female, elder male shall dominate younger$. A patriarchy is therefore a hierarchic society, characteri)ed by both sexual and generational oppression. Men have dominated women in all societies, but accept that the form and degree of oppression has varied considerably in different cultures and at different times.2 Patriarchy is an ideology in which women is always dominated by her husband and always considered her husband as 0wami, 0hauhar, Pati, Malik, 3evta, 4ord, ,wner, God and women$s body is always considered as property of men. Patriarchy As A System Of Exploitation 5nderstanding power relationship between men and women, women and women, men and man, control of the head of the family on the rest of the members. To understand how the patriarchy concept works we have to examine two interacting dimensions of social system. The formation of gendered identities and the reproduction of gendered social structure. The first is about sociali)ation- how individuals are taught culturally appropriate attitudes and behaviors. Families, schools, religious institutions and media are important sources of this sociali)ation. The second dimension is about systemic or structural control1 how practices and institutions keep gender hierarchy in place by generating conformity and compliance. Moral and intellectual control is affected through privileging certain belief system (e.g. Myth, religion and even science). More direct social control is affected through job markets, laws, governance and physical coercion. From birth on, the way we are treated depends on our gender assignment, and we learn in multiple ways how to adopt gender 6appropriate behaviors. There are few occasions or interactions where our patriarchy is truly irrelevant% our names% clothes% games% rewards and punishments% the attention we get, the subjects we study% the knowledge claims we make, the jobs we work at, and the power we have are all profoundly shaped by gender expectations. As individuals, we differ considerably in the extent to which we conform to cultural expectations.. 7ut none of us escape gender sociali)ation or the systemic efforts of gender ine8uality. Most significant it is not only females but males as well who suffer from the rigid gender roles. 2Heywood, Andrew, Political Ideologies, Pal grave Macmillan, 2003, pp.240. 2 Patriarchy Sterotypes And Dichotomies 0tereotypes are pictures in our heads that filter how we /see$. They are composite images that attributes-often incorrectly and always too generally- certain characteristics to whole groups of people. Thus groups are seen as other want or expect to see them, not necessarily as they are. The over simplification in stereotypes encourages us to ignore complexity and contradictions that might prompt us to challenge the status 8uo. The use of stereotypes suggests that particular behaviors are timeless and inevitable. Generally, dominant patriarchy stereotypes depict men/ masculinity as 9strong, independent, worldly, aggressive, ambitious, logical and rough: and women /femininity as the opposite1 9weak, dependent, passive, na;ve, not ambitious, illogical and gentle:. This exemplifies the binary nature of models of gender, constructing man/ masculinity and woman/ femininity as two poles of dichotomy- oppositions- that define each other. Through this either or lens women are not simply different from men1 9women: is defined by what is 9 not man: and characteristics of femininity are those that are inappropriate to or contradict masculinity. The every aspect of our lives, we are bombarded with patriarchy stereotypes. Consider the depiction of men and women on television and in musical lyrics% how often is there a politically powerful of physically /rough$ woman, especially one that is likable or a man who is nurturing and sensual as a way of being all the time, not just in certain circumstances and most telling why are there so few images of gender-free individuals- people whose gender status is not immediately and une8uivocally apparent? Why are we so uncomfortable with gender ambiguities, virtually insisting that individuals be patently either men/ masculine or women/ feminine? These 8uestions bring into focus how gender stereotypes interact with western patterns of thinking to institutionali)e a critical and typically conservative pattern in how we think about, act upon, and therefore shape reality. In Cynthia Epstein$s word, 9 no aspect of social life- whether the gathering of crops, the ritual of religion, the formal dinner party or the organi)ation of government- is free from the dichotomous thinking that casts the world in categories of /male$ and /female$. An interaction of gender stereotypes, dichotomies, hierarchies, and musculinism/ androcentrism powerfully filters our understanding of social reality. 7ecause we rarely 8uestion the dualism of male- female, we fail to see how the male 6dominated hierarchy of masculine- feminine is socially constructed rather than natural recogni)ing the power of these filtering devices is an important first step towards analy)ing their effects accurately and improving our knowledge of the world we both produce and produced by. 3omestic violence is a hidden problem, but it can easily define the power relationship between men and women. The term domestic violence include psychological or mental violence% which can consist of repeated verbal abuse% harassment% confinement and deprivation of physical, financial and personal resources. The forms of violation may vary from one society and culture to another. It is difficult to estimate the actual incidence of violence in the household. Families, communities deny the problem, fearing that an admission of its existence is an assault on the integrity of the family. Victims are often reluctant to report that they have been violated% they may fail to report abuse because they feel ashamed of being assaulted by their husbands% they may be afraid% they may have a sense of family loyalty. 3 Violence within a household does not remain untouched by political ideologies of violence and valour or cultural dimensions of caste. Histories of rajput celebrations of violence against the self, for example, enter the household not only through men$s violence against women, but women$s violence against themselves through their understandings of sati (self 6immolation), which is not a historical issue alone, but a contemporary 9real choice: for women (sangari and vaid .A8., sunder ranjan .AAC).