In chapter 1 of Allan Johnson’s “The Gender Knot” there are four characteristics of patriarchy discussed. The four characteristics of a patriarchal society are male dominance, male identification, male centeredness and obsession with control. Upon my reading of Gloria Steinem’s “If Men Could Menstruate” I uncovered examples that point to the four characteristics of patriarchy.
Male Dominance is what creates power differences between men and women in society. In our society men are ranked higher than women. “The characteristics of the powerful, whatever they may be, are thought to be better than the characteristics of the powerless.” (Steinem pg. 280) In this example the men are the powerful and the women are the powerless, just like in our society. The powerful ones are
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clearly viewed as “better” and this ranks men in a high position compared to women. Male Identification happens when masculinity is valued and femininity is devalued.
In a patriarchal society women are viewed as the other. Anything not associated with masculinity is labeled as other. In “If Men Could Menstruate” it is implied that male radicals would say that women are equal, but different and that they could be viewed as an adequate equal if they inflicted a wound to themselves every month. (Steinem pg. 280) This example shows male identification because it implies that in order for women to be as valuable to society as men they would have to commit and act that would be viewed as equal to the natural menstruation of men.
Male Centeredness is the focus of attention that is primarily on males and what they do. Newspapers, movies and television are all centered round men’s experiences. In the article there is a reference to the television show “Happy Days”. Fonzie’s friends would try to convince him that he is still “the man” even if he has missed two periods. (Steinem pg. 280) This example shows how television is centered around a man’s experience. Men are often the main characters of all movies and television and their experiences are documented as being of greater
importance. Obsession with Control is seen as a “core value” in which men’s personal and social life are organized. Men are expected to be in control. The way they maintain their privilege is to control women and even men who threaten it. The article asks the rhetorical question “how would women be trained to react?” It then goes on to predict that traditional women would agree with the arguments made by males. These examples show the control that men have over the women in society. Even the women’s responses are controlled in order for the men to keep their privilege.
Throughout history, it is clear that men are usually seen to be advantaged by the logic of domination while females tend to be disadvantaged. Whether it be in the workplace, household, or even the bible men have always been inferior to women. Through history, cultural norms and stereotypes gender roles were created and have been present throughout society. Although it is believed that males are more advantaged than females the texts Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread by Phyllis Trible and The Creation and Fall of Man and Woman explain how men and woman are in fact equal and maybe even disadvantaged by these cultural arrangements. Therefore, throughout history it is clear that gender discourses would allow one to believe that men are advantaged
In a patriarchal society men normally have the power. This power is generally handed down generation to generation as seen in Sundiata where the lineage of the first kings of Mali is explained generation by generation (Niane 3). It can also be seen in The Romance of Tristan and Iseult when “[T']he barons, Andret, Guenelon, Gondoine, and Denoalen pressed King Mark to take to wife some king's daughter who should give him an heir...”(Bedier 26). In these examples men generally have the primary power. However, there is an argument to be made that women, in both Sundiata, and The Romance of Tristan and Iseult have some significant power in their society.
Realistically, when someone is more powerful, they have the ability to set the rules. Men have historically held power in society, which means that women did not have as much stance or freedoms as men have had in the past. For example, Canadian women did not have the right to vote until the year 1916. This factor has continued to trail into the present day, creating the ‘weak’ image towards women, overall forcing and pushing men to become the opposite of this factor. Thus, cultural ideals of masculinity rely on the ideas of femininity through patriarchy and gender binaries. The emphasis on characteristics of men are being exaggerated, as society is pressuring men with unattainable standards of masculinity such as being tough, muscular and buff. Men continue to conform to these characteristics, in the fear of being oppressed through exclusion, which only strengthens society’s standards even more. This leads to more societal pressures on men, thus leading men to experience more societal pressures in the fear of feeling excluded. These “systems of inclusion and exclusion are divisions or barriers that prevent people from joining and belonging.” (50). For example, if a man wears nail polish, they may be oppressed and excluded through facing ridicule and bullying, because wearing nail polish is considered “girly”, therefore this boy is rebelling against society’s socially
Male dominance has been prevalent ever since the hunter/gatherer social transformation. It continues to be so, in almost every culture, except of the apparent Amazons. Even today, in our post-Industrial era, males are still more dominant than females, especially in third world countries. The male gender were the ones to become leaders and determiners. They define what is acceptable for a woman ranging from one culture to the next. Whether it is the way a woman should dress, be treated, or how she should behave, it is all decided by the males in society. These decisions vary from female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, to anal sex as the initiation into womanhood, to women being whipping for a man to transition into adulthood.
Control is dominating over something or someone. The reason people want control is because control is power. Masculinity is always associated with power and control, while femininity is associated with passivity and weakness. As Allan Johnson states this is related to the fact that “male dominance creates power differences between men and women” (248). So because of the fact that men hold positions of power they seem more superior to women creating these stereotypes about each gender. The reason this is importa...
The word gender refers to a general classification of human beings into male and female with socially and culturally constructed characteristics, behaviors, attributes and roles preconceived and labelled as appropriate for each class. The society and culture today have placed human beings in a box which to a large extent dictates how we act in the world.
Male domination resulted to the denied rights and unequal distribution of responsibilities a husband and wife should do. Without women we wouldn’t exist. However, women are still believed to be weak, they are exploited and dominated by men. Although, this not true in always but we must agree that it is still happening today. As a woman, I hope that as time passes by this practice will be eliminated.
‘Women and men are different. Equal treatment of men and women does not result in equal outcomes.’ (Corsten Report, 16: 2007) According to Covington and Bloom (2003) numerous feminist writers have demonstrated and documented the patriarchal nature of our society and the variety of ways in which the patriarchal values serve masculine needs. ‘Despite claims to the contrary, masculinist epistemologies are built upon values that promote masculine needs and desires, making all others invisible’ (Kaschak, 11: 1992).
West and Zimmerman define gender as, “the performance of activities and actions that derive from the chosen sex category a person identifies with (29).” This would mean that an individual who chooses to identify as a female such as Agnes would have to keep up with that identity permanently throughout day to day interactions; rather, than a facade, or two faced person who displays themselves differently in the public and domestic spheres. Since this theory focuses on social interaction, it can be questioned if gender identity is then fixed or flexible? Considering everyday interactions, no two conversations a group of people may have will be the “exact same,” in the same way one can say that yes gender is a fixed trait, but it is also flexible. Keeping in mind that culture and society is always changes and bound to adapt to new situations, what was considered a fixed gender at a certain point in an individual’s life may change over time. for example, women within many societies and cultures be in western, Asian, middle eastern or native were seen as the home makers and housewives who remained within the domestic sphere, today this ideology has changed where there are more women in the workforce in comparison to earlier generations as well as the opposite gender. Flexibility is seen through the fact that although a woman may have her share within domestics, she may also hold a
Johnson argues that patriarchy is made up of more than just individuals. Systems are more complex than people (Johnson 92). Within a system there are different parts the come together to form a whole. In terms of patriarchy, these parts are the different standards and ideals that patriarchy upholds. The three facets of patriarchy are male centered, male identified, and male dominated. Also patriarchy is not just driven by men, women can also play a role in its continuation. Believing in the equality of men and women is not enough to challenge the system (Johnson 94). Our culture must break down and question the parts of the patriarchal system in order to lessen its grip on our culture.
On a daily basis people are exposed to some sort of misrepresentation of gender; in the things individuals watch, and often the things that are purchased. Women are often the main target of this misrepresentation. “Women still experience actual prejudice and discrimination in terms of unequal treatment, unequal pay, and unequal value in real life, then so too do these themes continue to occur in media portraits.”(Byerly, Carolyn, Ross 35) The media has become so perverted, in especially the way it represents women, that a females can be handled and controlled by men, the individual man may not personally feel this way, but that is how men are characterized in American media. Some may say it doesn’t matter because media isn’t real life, but people are influenced by everything around them, surroundings that are part of daily routine start to change an individual’s perspective.
explores not only the way in which patriarchal society, through its concepts of gender , its objectification of women in gender roles, and its institutionalization of marriage, constrains and oppresses women, but also the way in which it, ultimately, erases women and feminine desires. Because women are only secondary and other, they become the invisible counterparts to their husbands, with no desires, no voice, no identity. (Wohlpart 3).
Deutschmann (2007) identifies five elements of the power-control theory: (1) The social class system determines the hierarchal ranking of individuals in terms of social power; (2) The class position of a parent in the occupational structure is reflected in her or his relative power within the family class structure; (3) The family structure and the social class structure are patriarchal and is reflected in the reality that women are subjected
Conflict theorists would argue that gender is just an attempt by men to maintain power and privilege. So based on this idea men are considered the primary or dominant group, which makes women the secondary or subordinate group. Of course it’s natural for people in power to try to maintain their power and
Gender order according to our text is labeled as “hierarchal” (2008), stating that “Men dominate women in terms of wealth, power, and social position, but not all men dominate all women” (2008). While this may be true, it is creating a divide between the two genders. This divide is apparent by looking at the pay scales between men and women, and even how the genders are looked at in terms of jobs or college admissions. Looking at today’s society however, women are slowly rising to compete with their male counterparts, in many ways, from education, government, and even television, for example Oprah Winfrey.