What is Patriarchy

Patriarchy is called predominance of authority exercised by a man over a group of people or societyspecifically about women and children.

On the other hand, patriarchy is also understood as the bishop of certain Orthodox churches or the founders of a religious order.

Patriarchy is a type of social organization whose authority and power rests with the male with the greatest authority in the family or social group, called the patriarch. Hence, patriarchy establishes male dominance over the female figure and the other members of a family and social group.

In this sense, patriarchy imposes an unequal distribution of power and rights between men and women. This inequality has driven various feminist movements and struggles in favor of respect and equal treatment and rights for women in relation to men.

These movements have achieved that women can occupy important social and political roles, access to education, the right to vote, greater job opportunities, respect for female sexuality, defense against gender violence, among others.

Examples of patriarchy

Today it is still possible to see different examples of patriarchy, some more marked than others. Below are some cases of patriarchy.

Economic dependence: It may occur because women are offered lower wages, unstable jobs, or because they depend on male breadwinners.
Domestic violence: Many women still suffer from psychological and physical abuse by their partners for being considered inferior and service beings.
Stereotypes: They can be seen after various comments or suggestions about the female figure. For example: “You can tell there is a woman in the office.”
Sexual harassment or rape: Although there are laws to protect women, many are still victims of rape or being treated as sexual objects by unscrupulous men.
Job competitiveness: There are many cases in which women obtain high-ranking positions, however, they are not allowed to opt for managerial positions. Likewise, there are cases where women are not allowed to opt for more competitive jobs because of male superiority.
Gypsies: The gypsy community, widespread in various countries, is characterized by exercising patriarchal authority.

See also Gypsy.

Origin of patriarchy

Various anthropological, sociological and political studies have determined that patriarchy, as a family and social structure, dates back to around the year 3000 BC. It is even considered that patriarchy also began in the Hebrew families in which this type of organization occurred.

The main signs of patriarchy derive from the fact that the man imposed his will, power and superiority over the female figure by assigning different tasks and obligations such as collecting food, taking care of the home, reproduction, among others.

For his part, the man dedicated himself to hunting, to war fighting, he was granted the right to have more than one partner, so he also dominated female sexuality and dedicated himself to instilling family and social values. .

Hence, specialists have pointed out that the structure of patriarchy is based mainly on three aspects: kinship relations and, specifically with women, compulsory heterosexuality and the sexual contract.

Consequently, the various feminist movements have fought throughout the 19th and 20th centuries for social, political, family and cultural equality between men and women. There have been many achievements, however, there is still great evidence that patriarchy continues to prevail in various ways today.

The word patriarchy derives from late Latin patriarchāliswhich means ʽgovernment of the parentsʼ.

Matriarchy

Matriarchy refers to the type of society whose authority and control is exercised by women. That is, in matriarchy, women are the ones who exercise authority or political leadership, as well as the custody of their children.

However, unlike patriarchy, women do not have advantages over men, therefore, the inequality between the two is not noticeable.

See also: