The Patriarchy of Uncle Pennybags

Sometimes I'm so overflowing with ideas, I don't even know where to begin! I have found so many interesting articles that make my mind explode with commentary, but it would take me forever to write them all down. (and, ya know, I'm writing a blog, not a dissertation, cough cough).

Therefore, I think for now I'll continue in the fashion of following along - for the most part - what I'm learning and discussing in my Women's Studies class - that is, attempting to answer one of the biggest questions I myself personally entered my class with - what exactly IS patriarchy?

I know that a good friend of mine posted a comment on my blog saying how glad she was that this wasn't just going to be a "male bashing" blog, and I'm so glad she brought that point up. Like I discussed in my last post, the idea that womyn/feminists "hate men" is one of the many false stereotypes that the media/society uses to turn womyn away from feminism.

So then, what is it exactly makes feminists so angry?

That, my friends, would be the patriarchal system in which you, I, and everyone single one of us born into this world currently resides in. Allan G. Johnson has written an incredible article entitled Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an US (1997). I urge you to all to find and devour this article as soon as you can, because it is the most eloquent, analytical description of patriarchy that I have read to date. I wish I could copy and paste it all in here, but since I can't, I'd like to highlight and comment on a few of his key points.

Johnson writes:

"At its core, patriarchy is based in part on a set of symbols and ideas that make up a culture embodied by everything from the content of everyday conversation to literature and film. Patriarchal culture includes idea about the nature of things... it's about how social life is supposed to be ... it's about standards of feminine beauty and masculine toughness, images of female vulnerability and masculine protectiveness ... it's about the valuing of masculinity and maleness, and the devaluing of femininity and femaleness. Above all, patriarchal culture is about the core value of control and domination in almost every area of human existence" (Johnson 34).

How dead-on is this description, especially when Johnson remarks on how the ideas and values of patriarchy embody every aspect of our modern day culture? First, there is the entire advertising industry, where the objectification of womyn by the male-dominated profession is, simply put, absolutely sickening. One of the best sources to depict this horror in detail is the fascinating website Media Watch. To be honest, before stumbling across this website, I probably never would have picked up on all of the underlying misogyny in the ad world (which is, without a doubt, another side effect of the patriarchal system - not even realizing how deep we are sunk into it). However, after browsing through the galleries on this site, I now look at every ad through a feminist lens, and am continually shocked by what I see. Another great resource is the "Offensive Ad' section on the pro-womyn site, Love Your Body.




An example of one of the ads - it's hard to believe this is actually an ad for a deodorant. First of all, what exactly does disrespecting a womyn have to do with keeping from sweating? Secondly, this is exactly the type of stereotype that Johnson is describing - one in which the male is the leader, the one who is in charge and can decide how and what to do to the womyn in his life, who, by nature, should be expected to "be compliant," and not be "aggressive" and speak up against this kind of behavior.







This one is definitely great. Can we be anymore obvious, Gucci? I mean, really. A womyn portrayed at a man's feet, in a position where she's about to kiss his feet, or, uh, something else. I love how easy this one is.





Here's yet another great ad - promoting your whiskey by insulting your girlfriend? Why is it that advertisers feel the need to insult womyn in order to sell their products? This is yet another example of the patriarchal patterns of male dominance in our culture. In all 3 ads, the male is in charge, while the womyn is either being belittled or highly disrespected while not in the picture, or portrayed in a lower status than the man. There are countless more examples located on both websites (most depicting completely clothed men and half-to-fully naked womyn), and I strongly urge you to check the sites out, and begin to view any ads you come across in the future through this feminist lens.




What is my point behind all of this? Am I being "too sensitive" about this material that is merely intended to sell a product? Should I just "relax" and not feel angered and outraged by the blatant oppression displayed in these ads? My answer is a resounding NO. This is exactly what Johnson is talking about when he describes the "paths of least resistance" that serve to keep patriarchy in check (Johnson 31). In simple terms, people, for the most part, live their lives according to the way they have been socialized. They do what it is comfortable in any given situation, and attempt to create the least bit of upset in an otherwise harmonious situation.

Johnson describes this by using the example of someone telling a sexist joke. Say that you are in a room with someone telling one of these jokes - you know, the typical a-womyn's-place-is-in-the-kitchen, marriage = death, men are pigs, my wife is uptight/prude/etc jokes that spread like wildfire. So the joke is told, and, obviously, the reaction is to laugh. Everyone else in the room is, it's just a "joke," what's the harm? The reality is, however, that these patterns of disrespect in a system begin to breed disrespect on an individual level, and the object of the sexist joke is automatically viewed as "less" than the jokester.

The same goes for coaches telling their male players that they "throw like a girl," or for males calling someone who is not as physically strong as them a "pussy" (and, likewise, for females to call someone a "dick," as my boyfriend pointed out - we all need to be respectful). I remember a group of male friends telling me about a mutual female friend who was insulted when the guys were yelling out terms like "Oh, you cunt!" or "Shitty tits," when they were losing in a game they were playing. These males couldn't believe that she was being so "uptight," and "sensitive," and tormented her so much that she was eventually quieted.

It's the path of least resistance to tell/laugh at these jokes, or throw around these insults, but if we continue with these patterns, nothing will ever change. The idea that if you are "less," you are "like a womyn," will continue to pervade both male and female thought, and equality will never see its day. It takes a person of true strength to stand up against these oppressive, patriarchal practices and say "Hey - this isn't right." It may take courage, and it may take time, but once one person begins to change the path, others will eventually follow, and the "path of least resistance" will change to one that leads the way out of patriarchy (Johnson 31).

It is at this point where we come to Johnson's great analogy - that patriarchy is like a great game of Monopoly.

I love this analogy more than I can even explain. Johnson's description is vivid and complex, so I'll attempt to simplify it.

Imagine that you and your friends are sitting down at the table to play a game of Monopoly. You have all played before, so you know the rules and the ins-and-outs of buying property, paying taxes, collecting from others, etc. etc. Therefore, when someone lands on your property and you ask them to pay up, you never question your personal motives and characteristics - you are not taking money from them because YOU are greedy, you are taking their money because that is what the rules tell you to do. Likewise, the patriarchal system is not about individuals, but about the rules of society, that most of us never even think to question -- how many people have ever stopped to ask WHY they can place their property on Park Ave., or whether or not they should really collect $200 when passing GO? As Johnson puts it, "We can describe [Monopoly] as a system without ever talking about the personal characteristics or motivations of the individual people who actually play it at any given moment" (Johnson 32).

Likewise, our country is centered so much around individualistic principles that we often find it difficult to view our society from a larger, collectivist viewpoint. As Johnson writes,

"From this kind of individualistic perspective, we might ask why a particular man raped, harassed, or beat a woman. We wouldn't ask, however, what kind of society would promote persistent patterns of such behavior in everyday life, from wife-beating jokes to the routine inclusion of sexual coercion and violence in mainstream movies ... what kind of society would give violent and degrading visions of women's bodies and human sexuality such a prominent and pervasive place in its culture to begin with" (Johnson 29).

Therefore, we CANNOT look at patriarchy as "bad" individuals, or "bad" men who are trying to keep the "good" women down. Patriarchy is not personal in the sense that there is no one man or group of men trying to keep males in power, but is instead a societal system that is held in place by paths of least resistance; beliefs of male domination cemented in every aspect of our culture, from ads to movies to sexist jokes; to gender-based insults, etc etc.

According to Johnson,

"Because patriarchy is, by definition, a system of inequality organized around gender categories, we can no more avoid being involved in it than we can avoid being female or male. All men and all women are therefore involved in this oppressive system, and none of us can control whether we participate, only how" (Johnson 37).

So what does this mean? That we are doomed to live in repetitious patterns of patriarchal domination? That there is no hope to change the system? Absolutely not! Although we cannot blame patriarchy on individuals, individuals have the power to change it. So stop and think before you tell that next sexist joke, or use female or male anatomy in a condescending way. Step off of the path of least resistance, and create your own. Most importantly, do not be afraid to be marked "too sensitive," or let anyone else silence your voice. Change is brought about through challenge, and I truly believe that we are ready to end the cycle.