The Matrix Of Domination In American Society

The matrix of domination is a complex social and psychological construct common in humans but has a unique perspective in the United States. There is an underlying cosmology that men are better leaders, less emotional and generally have a better thought process than women in general.

“Additive models of oppression are firmly rooted in the either/or dichotomous thinking of Eurocentric, masculinist thought.”- Collins

Patriarchy manifested itself in the industrial revolution and in the plantation lifestyle of the south. This unspoken code defined that a dominant male in power was the principle decision maker for large groups of “inferior” people including women, children and servants/slaves. While this idea maybe most evident in white men, there is a central thought that a man, any man deserves power and respect merely by virtue of being a man. Men identify with a profile of being a protector, a provider and a strong central figure; this however, rarely proves to be the truth in modern society, rather a man who shows himself to be dependent on a woman for care appears to be weaker, not stronger.

In the Matrix Reader, the authors discuss how women of color denied even the lower rung positions in sales and office positions left them as domestics, carrying on roles from slavery.

“Each minority group has had a different experience in American society and has faced different opportunities and obstacles. Women in each group share with African American women the concerns of all minority women; they share with the men of their ethnic groups the problems of discrimination against that particular ethnic