The Illusion of Patriarchal Society - Essay Example

due: According to Allan Johnson, of Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, unravelling our Patriarchal inheritance, society is male-controlled “to the degree that it is male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered” (Johnson 158). That women actually run everything behind the scenes, the actuality of male dominance is plainly seen in the point that positions of authority are normally held by men or reserved for only men. In our democratic society today, male dominance is no longer official policy, women are entitled to vote, possess property and participate fully in business ventures. With this still it is quickly and profusely clear that men hold the positions of authority, in every institution (Johnson 158). World positions of politics and financial authority in many parts, by official rule, can only be held by men (Felagund, Paragraph 5). According to Allan Johnson, “Patriarchal societies are male-identified in that the core cultural thoughts about what is good, desirable, preferable or normal are associated with how we think about men and masculinity" (Johnson 158). Johnson cites the global example in our own language of the use of male pronouns and the word “man” to involve both men and women (Johnson 165). Given the context of Allan Johnson in his book Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, “Men must be aggressive and develop a capacity for violence in order to defend family and society.” Since everyone is almost convinced that the natural relationship between child and parent is love, this fear-based exercise of sons to be aggressive was first done in what was felt to be a context of love, the only form of love that could protect the following generations going forward from the fears produced in the context of scarcity. At some points in history the risk and fear were real. But the structure of martial law handed on from one generation of fathers to the subsequent at some point in time became unnecessary, hitherto the mechanisms of fear used for its spread were so influential that the fear was internalized in the subliminal to the point of seeming natural. The system established nearly irresistible logic, drive as per Johnsons words, “Perhaps the bedrock of patriarchal ideology is the belief that it is necessary, socially desirable, and rooted in a universal sense of tradition and history” (Johnson 133). Allan Johnson, the solution starts with accepting patriarchy exists in us as a joint system with its own inner logic, conformist wisdom and “paths of least challenges," rather than as corrupt behavior by men towards women. A universal problem is not resolved by trying to recognize “bad apples” weeding them out or bound their effect. Most women and men partake in this system without deliberately intending to victimize or be victimized, without even knowing the existence of the system (Johnson 188). The idea of “paths of least resistance," path with minimal challenges/obstacles is critical here. For instance when you are part of say a discussion with only males present, predominantly people you may not know well or that have some power over me, and someone makes a chauvinist joke about the female gender, the easiest and probably the safest thing to do is to laugh along or at least keep quiet. Or when you are put in a state of admitting maybe some unintentional, insensitive behavior on your part to one or more women, not to end up saying, “Well you know how we men are!” and just laugh (Felagund, Paragraph 35). Based on the understanding of this repressive system, Johnson says that it is significant to take full responsibility for patriarchy and role in it without accepting the blame for the making of the said system. This gets back to the idea of bad behavior by men versus a bad system. To take on all that blame and guilt is too heavy, overwhelming load, and makes one less effective in doing anything about it. It is vital to understand that even passive contribution in patriarchal conventional wisdom and its paths of least struggle prolongs the whole ideology (Felagund, Paragraph 36). Finally, after acknowledging patriarchy and taking full responsibility for our contribution in it, it is important to master the audacity when we can to take few risks challenging those conventions, including facing the discomposure of others. “Pick your battles when you can be most effective," as my mother would say. Here are some of Spade & Valentine’s suggestions, along with his basic advice to “think small, humble, and doable rather than large, heroic, and impossible," but given that, “Don’t let other people set the standard for us” (Spade & Valentine 573). Whenever you walk into a party or another social situation with numerous circles of individuals, if all the males are in one grouping and all the females in another, you will generally halt the “gender barrier” and go join the group of women. You will find it so interesting by how the dynamics of the group will change when the group transitions from single gender based to a mixed group with both men and women. Breaking that gender barricade shrinks the tendency for normative proclamations about a gulf between women and men (Felagund, Paragraph 39). The classic condition is in a group of men when someone tells a chauvinist joke that belittles women or men that are not behaving in a masculine way. Depending on the joke and the mood in which it was said, you might admit that it is rather funny, but then add, “But you got to admit its kind of sexist." The joke teller may then admit that and perhaps say sorry, or maybe contend the point or political perfection generally. All these scenarios, if handled with sensitivity they deserve can help solve the situation and acknowledged (Felagund, Paragraph 40). When a man is in casual discussion with other men, he often try to drive the discussion away from talking about non-living objects and their characteristics, including cars and computers, and towards talking about people, feelings and relationships (Felagund, Paragraph 42). When you are out in the larger populace or volunteering within a religious congregation or some other community group, and need ascends to form a committee and elect a chair for that committee, be positive to suggest a woman within the group, that you deem would do a commendable task, be the chairperson for the committee. If you encounter a headship or other decision-making groups that is all men or women, publicly note that ask the members if they have any thoughts on that point (Felagund, Paragraph 43). It is unfair and generally ineffective to expect individuals of the unprivileged group to do all the heavy lifting of challenging that pleasure. Again, when the “gender barrier” is cracked and men join women in puzzling a particular item of male privilege, there is a pattern shift away from any men’s sphere versus women’s sphere or any talk of the battle between men and women. As far as only women are grouchy it is easier for men to be in denial about their behavior (Felagund, Paragraph 44). Works cited Felagund . "Defining, Perpetuating & Challenging Patriarchy."Defining, Perpetuating & Challenging Patriarchy. N.p., 22 June 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. . Johnson, Allan. Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. S.l.: Temple University Press, 2014. Print. Spade, Joan Z, and Catherine G. Valentine. The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities. Los Angeles, Calif: Sage Publications, 2011. Print. Read More