Patriarchy and masculinities
Smashing the Patriarchy
Feminism responds to patriarchy
‘Patriarchy is the power of the fathers: a familial-social, ideological, political system in which men -by
force, direct pressure, or through ritual, tradition, law, and language, customs, etiquette, education, and
the division of labour, determine what part women shall or shall not play, and in which the female is
everywhere subsumed under the male. It does not necessarily imply that no woman has power, or that
all women in a given culture may not have certain powers’
Adrienne Rich, Of Woman Born (1976:57)
Division of labour (reproductive and productive)
Not perfect de nition, but good ideas: shows its a system, and therefore not just happening through
force but also in everyday. Doesnt say all women have the same experience.
Minus, only focuses on men and women, not considering non-binary
Images
Game of thrones: main family embodying the patriarchy
Godfather: showing patriarchy and what is …. Even poster ;looks like a pyramid
Mulan: even dresses as man to be able to ght, instead of her father who would not be able
Little women, pride and prejudice: show how privileged white women navigate the patriarchy, see their
di erent identities in the patriarchy
Images
Smashing the patriarchy: become commoditised, with poor third world women usually making items
labelled as smashing the patriarchy, ……
Patriarchy
Patriarchy doesnt mean …
1. That all men are privileged
- here it i worth considering intersectionality (not all men have the same power)
- the men in primary power are certain types of men
2. That it is the best form of social system for men
- privilege is relational, but limited (its only best form for certain type of men: privileged/ think
intersectionality)
, - it creates unrealistic expectations which burden men who dont meet them
3. That gender roles are xed
- changing gender roles create confusion in largely unchanged structures that still bene ts
patriarchy
Levels of analysis
1. Individual
How are certain types of people constituted under patriarchy ?
2. Societal
What role. Does gender play in shaping societies (and vice versa)? How does society play a role in
shaping gender roles?
3. Global
How do dominant discourses on gender interact with the global capitalist system which favours
upper/middle class men?
Cultural Hegemony (Anthony Gramsci, Marxist philosopher 1891-1937)
What is hegemony?
Dominantion of one social group over others
Cultural Hegemony
-Theory developed by Antonio Gramsci (early 1900s), Marxist Philosopher
-Dominance of economic and social class through structures and social norms.
-Ideology that the social, political and economic status quo is ‘inherent’ (idea one group is inherently
dominant/superior than another)
See echoes of this in Saids orientalist, Lugones’s coloniality of gender, Quijano’s coloniality of
power (look back in recording)
Who are ‘men’ in patriarchy ?
Men are those deemed ‘natural’ leaders
- this is reinforced through norms, institutions, structures
- a lot of this reinforcement is done through hegemonic power (monopolisation of power that men
have that are reinforced each day with the structures in play)
If we return to the themes covered in week 4 (decolonisation gender)…
- it is the enduring coloniality of the reinforcement of hierarchies
- cultural hegemony of exporting gender relations
The men who hold primary power are hegemonic men
Types of masculinity
Hegemonic
• culturally dominant idea of a successful man (eg Justin Trudeau: white heterosexual attractive ‘ideal’
man who is celebrated for being successful, with the ‘power couple’/‘ideal; marriage)
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Complicit
• Don’t t characteristics but nonetheless endorse it (eg Micheal Scott in o ce: not conventionally
attractive, wants to be a leader/in the boys club, makes racist jokes at expense of employees.
|
fi
fi
Smashing the Patriarchy
Feminism responds to patriarchy
‘Patriarchy is the power of the fathers: a familial-social, ideological, political system in which men -by
force, direct pressure, or through ritual, tradition, law, and language, customs, etiquette, education, and
the division of labour, determine what part women shall or shall not play, and in which the female is
everywhere subsumed under the male. It does not necessarily imply that no woman has power, or that
all women in a given culture may not have certain powers’
Adrienne Rich, Of Woman Born (1976:57)
Division of labour (reproductive and productive)
Not perfect de nition, but good ideas: shows its a system, and therefore not just happening through
force but also in everyday. Doesnt say all women have the same experience.
Minus, only focuses on men and women, not considering non-binary
Images
Game of thrones: main family embodying the patriarchy
Godfather: showing patriarchy and what is …. Even poster ;looks like a pyramid
Mulan: even dresses as man to be able to ght, instead of her father who would not be able
Little women, pride and prejudice: show how privileged white women navigate the patriarchy, see their
di erent identities in the patriarchy
Images
Smashing the patriarchy: become commoditised, with poor third world women usually making items
labelled as smashing the patriarchy, ……
Patriarchy
Patriarchy doesnt mean …
1. That all men are privileged
- here it i worth considering intersectionality (not all men have the same power)
- the men in primary power are certain types of men
2. That it is the best form of social system for men
- privilege is relational, but limited (its only best form for certain type of men: privileged/ think
intersectionality)
, - it creates unrealistic expectations which burden men who dont meet them
3. That gender roles are xed
- changing gender roles create confusion in largely unchanged structures that still bene ts
patriarchy
Levels of analysis
1. Individual
How are certain types of people constituted under patriarchy ?
2. Societal
What role. Does gender play in shaping societies (and vice versa)? How does society play a role in
shaping gender roles?
3. Global
How do dominant discourses on gender interact with the global capitalist system which favours
upper/middle class men?
Cultural Hegemony (Anthony Gramsci, Marxist philosopher 1891-1937)
What is hegemony?
Dominantion of one social group over others
Cultural Hegemony
-Theory developed by Antonio Gramsci (early 1900s), Marxist Philosopher
-Dominance of economic and social class through structures and social norms.
-Ideology that the social, political and economic status quo is ‘inherent’ (idea one group is inherently
dominant/superior than another)
See echoes of this in Saids orientalist, Lugones’s coloniality of gender, Quijano’s coloniality of
power (look back in recording)
Who are ‘men’ in patriarchy ?
Men are those deemed ‘natural’ leaders
- this is reinforced through norms, institutions, structures
- a lot of this reinforcement is done through hegemonic power (monopolisation of power that men
have that are reinforced each day with the structures in play)
If we return to the themes covered in week 4 (decolonisation gender)…
- it is the enduring coloniality of the reinforcement of hierarchies
- cultural hegemony of exporting gender relations
The men who hold primary power are hegemonic men
Types of masculinity
Hegemonic
• culturally dominant idea of a successful man (eg Justin Trudeau: white heterosexual attractive ‘ideal’
man who is celebrated for being successful, with the ‘power couple’/‘ideal; marriage)
|
\/
Complicit
• Don’t t characteristics but nonetheless endorse it (eg Micheal Scott in o ce: not conventionally
attractive, wants to be a leader/in the boys club, makes racist jokes at expense of employees.
|
fi
fi
