The Importance Of Patriarchy In The Filipino Family

Patriarchy originated from the Latin words pater, which means father, and arch, which means rule. It is a social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line; broadly, it is the control by men of a disproportionately large share of power (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, 2015). A patriarchal society is one in which men dominate over women in the different aspects of society.

Different cultures have their own systems of supremacy, with patriarchy being the most common. It has been predominant in most of the countries in the world since the ancient times. It is evident in some Muslim countries where women are being

Starting from the grassroots level, patriarchy can already be seen with the hierarchy on Filipino families. Since the family is the primary agent of socialization, it is through the family that shared values of society are introjected into individuals and, in turn, projected back again into society (Ramirez, 1984, p. 19). The father is the head of the family and also called as the haligi or foundation of the home. He is the one who earns money for the family and makes all the decisions regarding family matters. The mother, on the other hand, is the ilaw or light of the home. She is the one who stays at home to bear children and to take care of them while the father is away working.

With the fathers working for their families, it means that men dominate the business sector. Majority of the companies in the Philippines are owned or operated by men, with the women only in low-paid positions. Worse, the women are not being employed for the men applicants are preferred over them. With men having the jobs, they easily earn the respect of the people and therefore have the power over the

A male in the Philippines is valued for perpetuating the family’s name. Thus, every family expects the first-born to be male (Ramirez, 1984, p. 41). The males are educated and become professionals which makes them associated with the role of breadwinners. As breadwinners, they have control on the family’s resources. Thus, they have the power to dominate over the rest of the family. The more resources relevant to another person’s life that one controls, the more one is able to affect what happens to that person and the more power one has relative to that person (Lips, 2001, p. 350). That is why the men are the ones who make most, if not all, of the decisions on behalf of the family members. They dictate them regarding all the things that they should do. They decide whether something is right or wrong, and they take actions themselves. They do not consult the opinions of the other family members for they believe that they are the only ones who have the right to speak and decide. Through threats and/or treats, they wield this power over their family