Patriarchy is a social system where power is held by men, through cultural norms and customs that favor men and withhold opportunity from women. Patriarchy refers to the male domination in society, it’s about the male privilege that men have over women in which men are seen above women like being paid more, being taken seriously and most of all getting much more respect. Patriarchy leads to both inequality and gender-based violence. It causes some women to perceive self-care as selfish or expressing their honest voice, one that stands up for what they really think, as aggressive. Patriarchy leads to reinforcing stereotypes that people might disagree with
Patriarchy vaguely plays its role in society, throughout various different behaviors of men. However, looking more in depth would allow us to view the bigger context, asking how people’s lives play in relation to this issue. We may assume an angry man’s thoughts from afar on why he may beat or harass a woman, though we shall not question where his sexual motive was created in that matter. What thoughts would run through a man’s head to believe sexual violence would be a solution to his problem? Patriarchy in this day and age is incredibly normalized and overlooked, subconsciously or not, women may participate in it as well. One may wonder how a woman would participate in her own oppression, but in some cases it has happened, most in a different form than what men showcase. Male domination has become the new “norm” of society, leading them to form their opinions on being the superior gender and believing women cannot do what they can. Even throughout television shows and movies, men are always seen as the strong character who saves everyone else from tragedies & leads the rest of his pack. This is simply an example of patriarchy happening within itself subtly on screen. More examples vary on any day to day situation, however, the system encourages this behavior without even realizing it.
The fight to equality continues as not only women being defined as inferior to men, but also, one who may live as an African American, faces difficulties being assimilated often. The world was taught one way and the system proceeds to embolden that manner — women being brought up and openly taught to love a man, men dominating over women, discrimination towards being a different skin color, and so many more topics in which we lack empathy in change and understanding. Being different is categorized as wrong and the biased judgement in one’s mind may easily be quick to form an opinion on a woman who is also of color, lesbian and a feminist. These are areas in which everyone is opinionated and often hate is shunned upon these very different groups of people. No one should have to diminish who they are, to fit in, or to earn more for their own future, realistically speaking, a man would have it done effortlessly his way. One type of oppression leads to the other and so on.
