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LogonType10 | 4 years ago

Isn't patriarchy the idea that men are in charge and superior to women?

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scotu|4 years ago

disclaimer, I'm not an expert or a scholar, I just saw the effect that our society has and I'm trying to understand.

Things are complicated but: men are in charge "correct" definition (I think), superior to women is just the justification it gives for the subjugation of women.

The thing is, not all men are in charge (nor they can be), and all men are the same, so the hierarchy cannot be 2 levels: are you not interested in the ball games? down a notch; don't care to prevaricate anybody for your success? down a notch; wanna talk about feelings? and so on. (oh, bonus: like male supremacy, white supremacy is the justification for keeping non-whites down a few notches).

I'd say it's crystal clear that the patriarchy generates a system of oppression, and men are oppressed in it as well (strict definition of what makes you a real, worthy man) (amounts of oppression may vary, men on average experience less oppression than women, ask your doctor..ahem).

monocasa|4 years ago

The idea is that the people who are in charge are men, not that men in the general case are in charge.

Zababa|4 years ago

That's a motte and bailey. The motte is "a few men have a disproportionate amount of power in society", the bailey is "all men have more privilege than women". It's important to be clear about what's meant by patriatchy because people often use different definitions, sometimes in the same conversation.