Patriarchy and Androcentrism - GEC 263 2024 PDF

Patriarchy  The term patriarchy was initially used to refer to autocratic rule by the male head of a family In the modern times, refers to a social system in which power is primarily held 6.“Possibl by adult men e Origins...

Patriarchy  The term patriarchy was initially used to refer to autocratic rule by the male head of a family In the modern times, refers to a social system in which power is primarily held 6.“Possibl by adult men e Origins” Anthropological and historical evidence indicates that most prehistoric societies were relatively more egalitarian Patriarchal social structures didn’t develop until many years later Some scholars say that historical research has not yet found a specific “initiating event” of the origin of patriarchy Some say we can point to the concept of “fatherhood root” as the beginning of the spread of patriarchy Historically we find domination of women by men in the Ancient Near East as far back as 3100BCE Restrictions during this time were imposed on a woman’s productive capacity Women were also excluded from “the process of representing or the construction of history” With the emergence of the Hebrew people, the “exclusion of woman from the God-humanity covenant” That by first century many ethicists, both Greco-Roman and Jewish discussed domestic structure by including prescribed duties for each member of the household  7. How Patriarchy Deploys itself a) Patriarchy & Androcentrism An Internet user creates a social media account and is assigned an icon by default that looks male A student reads the Bible verse, “man shall not live on bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3, New King James Version), for which man can be taken to mean people (New Living Translation). Walking past a row of movie posters, a moviegoer notices that most of the posters feature a male in the leading role. Indeed, men often stand in for both women and men. Greek philosopher Protagoras asserted that “man is ‘the measure of all things,’” to make a point about truth, not about gender (Plato, 1921). Yet everyday experiences seem to be replete with men being taken as the common standard, or “the measure of all things.” The term Androcentrism is used to describe this specific form of gender bias  Androcentric: defines a male-centred view, treating males as the universal human norm. It is a male-oriented worldview Androcent rism The male becomes the model, the Defined rubric through which we view things. It treats the woman or female as not the same, or opposite or the complement of the male. Androcentrism is the tendency to focus society on men and their needs, priorities, and values, while pushing women to the margins. It refers to a societal system organised around men and evident in both individual biases and institutional policies. It establishes men as the standard of gender neutrality, while categorising women as gender- specific. Instances of androcentrism can be seen in the use of male pronouns (e.g., he), visual representations, and research subjects that are predominantly male to signify the entire population. The female is the “Other”; the exception, the anomaly, the one who lacks and her lack justifies male domination. The female is the opposite His strengths are defines in opposition to her “weaknesses.” Men project what they fear in or do not understand to women. Define as unimportant and at the same fear, women’s reproductive and nurturing powers Men and women are defined in parallel oppositions of male//female; mind/body; good/evil which often support domination The term androcentrism was expanded by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1911). Gilman characterised society as an “androcentric culture,” one in which men manage “all human activities” and women are positioned in a subordinate position “in relation to” men, even including the matter of reproduction. androcentrism places men at the centre of society making men’s bodies, thoughts, and experiences the focus. “man is treated as human and woman as other” (p. 2). Thus, while men are seen as foundational, women are understood as a special case. The current review adopts this view of androcentrism as “male-centreed Woman is not only defined in opposite to males but third world women are the “others” of the “Other.” Other: means the social, cultural, political/psychological ways in which one group excludes or marginilises another group. once someone is declared “other”, there is stress on what makes them different or opposite of another. It carries over into the way that someone is represented through stereotypes or stereotypical images. Philosophers, social theorists, and postcolonialists often use the term "The Other" to talk about someone or something that is seen as fundamentally different from oneself or one's group. People who don't fit into the dominant norms or categories of identity, society, or belief systems are put in these groups and kept away from the others. Hebrew Bible and Christian testament illustrate androcentrism and patriarchy God is often presented as male Male figures and authorities dominate the texts Patrilineal genealogy and the process that leads to a male heir, including a male messiah structure many of biblical texts. Many passages assume that only men are religious or political leaders 1 Timothy 2:11-15 instructs women to keep silent and have no authority over men because women are the authors of original sin Barren women like Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth interact with God. However, their bareness as infertile wives is a reproach and their stories of fertility births sons to continue the male line  Androcentrism sustains gender inequality by androcentrism disguising the functions to uphold and maleness of male reinforce men’s greater power under the rubric societal power of the “neutral standard”  Patriarchal Power operates as b) Kyriarchal power. Patriarc Kyriarchy, derived from the hal Greek compound nound: Power Kyrios and Archein Kyrios=Lord or Master. as Kyriarch Archein=to rule or dominate. y It is an elaboration of patriarchy to include all systems of oppressions and not just gender. It serves by enabling one to pinpoint the systemic way in which oppression rules, without having to name each and every ʻismʼ and its intersections, risking to privilege some over others Kyriarchy defines patriarchy not just as the rule of the father but multiple rules of domination in various intersecting structures. As kyriarchal Power: it operates on institutional-structural. Kyriarchal Power operates along the practices of gender, race, class, culture, education and religion. They structure systems of domination or what bell hooks calls the “interlocking systems of oppression.” (intersectionality) Gender, race, class, culture and religion etc as –inter-connected systems of oppression share a foundation...the belief in domination and beliefs in notions of superiority and inferiority. A House: they share the foundation and it is the ideological beliefs around which ideas of dominations are constructed. The System of Patriarchy  A set of things related together to make a complete whole A mechanism/an arrangement/order/a network System A set of principles or procedures according to which something takes defined place It is a composition of interrelated parts or element that we can consider a unity or whole Like a car engine that makes a whole part with a purpose it plays in the society A system is a collection of interrelated pieces or elements designed to serve a specific purpose or function. These components operate together in accordance with specific rules or processes to build a complicated whole. Systems can exist in a variety of contexts, e.g. biological systems (for example, the human body), social systems (for example, communities), and technology systems.  We are stuck in a model of social life that views We are all products Patriarchy shapes us everything as of a patriarchal life beginning and ending with individuals But with patriarchy Our lives are shaped The system of we are living in in relation to the patriarchy runs us something larger family, religion and all than that even the economy  Is a social system where people participate in Patriarch An arrangement of shared understanding and relationships that y is a connect people to one another It is a society organised around certain system kinds of social relationships and ideas We are like players who participate in a game The game is a social system with patterns that shape our lives Patriarchy is how it functions in larger contexts And how we are enrolled in its system How we have accepted certain behaviours as normal life related to male dominance, hierarchy, control-obsessed world in which we lie and our lives are embedded We see it as nothing more than men’s and women’ individual personalities, motivations and behaviour  It is a society organised around We are like players certain kinds of who participate in social a game relationships and ideas The game is a social system with patterns that shape our lives  Ideas about the Embodies nature of things; Patriarchy is about everything from the about being human cultural ideas about content of everyday and manhood and men and women conversation to femininity are literature and film associated with being human It is about social life and how it is supposed to be Patriarchy is patrilineal, that is, descent and inheritance is reckoned through the male line Children are given the family name of their father It is about what is expected of people and about how they feel It is about standards of beauty and masculine toughness Web of relationship that structure social life The upbringing of children Social arrangements (family, church, competitive hierarchical occupations, gender division of labour) Force (rape, battery, harassment) The unequal distribution of rewards and resources that underlies oppression People are able to grow up and live in it, accept it, identify with, and participate in it as “normal” and unremarkable life Patriarchy defines and include cultural ideas about men and women The main use of culture is to provide symbols and ideas out of which people construct their sense of what is real If fathers neglect their sons, or children it is because they move in a world that makes the pursuit of goals other than committed fatherhood a path of least resistance Or a world that has made fatherhood not that important Because there are social roots that generate and nurture the social problems that are reflected in the behavior of individuals For example, we ask what kind of an individual rapes or harasses? but should we not be asking, what kind of society would promote persistent patterns of such behavior in every day life Our participation both shapes our lives and gives us the opportunity to be part of changing or perpetuating it We don’t need to sometimes prove that society is oppressive, people participate in their own oppression It produces the path of least resistance in any system When oppression is woven into the fabric of everyday life, we don’t need to go out of our to prove it, evil requires ordinary people to do nothing. If heterosexuality fails, it is because it has placed women and men at odds If men use coercion and violence against women is pervasive, it is because force and violence are supported in patriarchal society Images of feminine vulnerabilities and masculine protectiveness  It is about older men coupled with your women, of elderly women being alone The About the social acceptability of system of anger, rage, and toughness in men but not in women, and of caring, patriarch tenderness and vulnerability in women but not in men y: It is about male aggression as competition and dominance Female caring, cooperation and subordination Valuing of masculinity and maleness and the devaluing of femininity and femaleness About the primary importance of husbands career and the secondary status of a The main function of culture is to provide symbols and ideas out of which social beings construct their sense of what is real Language mirrors reality (gender construction); think of the words; witch, bitch, virgin, cunt, slut and (threatening evil, heterosexual, inexperienced and thus incomplete) Delve deeper into patriarchal culture: a web of ideas exist to define reality and what is considered good and desirable We see the world in patriarchal eyes; we believe that women and men are profoundly different in their basic natures We then see hierarchy as the only alternative to chaos Men we made in the image of a masculine God with whom they can enjoy a special relationship Patriarchy compels us to believe they are only two and only distinct genders, that patriarchal heterosexual is natural and same-sex attraction is not That because men neither bear nor breast feed children, they cannot feel a compelling bodily connection to them That on some level every woman whether gay or hetero wants a man who knows how to “take change of things” including her That females can’t be trusted especially when they are menstruating or accusing men of sexual misconduct  We participate in patriarchy When we embrace it, we buy into the notion that women are weak and men are strong conclusion That women and children need me to support and protect them Patriarchal culture dictates how things ought to be To live in a patriarchal culture is to learn what is expected of us as women and men I am not saying that every man consciously hates all things female When we don’t feel that hatred, it is because we have internalized certain dictated gendered behaviours Masculinity is naturally seen to have dominance, confidence, strength, competition, and rationality as its markers of difference Femininity is linked to submission, nurturing, caring, sensitivity, and emotionality Men are expected to exhibit masculine behavior Women are expected to exhibit feminine behaviour It shapes us as individuals How it shapes us and how we are in choosing how to participate in its We are involved in it Men even benefit from women’s oppression The end