Patriarchy is a deep-rooted system that stems from the fixed idea that should men lead and that women should just follow. Men are the alphas n thus shall have absolute power over everything and everyone especially females. This oppressive system has caused immense suffering and hardships in the female community especially even more so for women of color, who cannot use “white privilege” to open any doors for them.
Us women are often sexualized whether were covered up from head to toe or wearing a bikini. As Allen Johnson states In the Gender knot, “to live in patriarchy is to breathe in misogynist images of women as objectified sexual property valued primarily for their use-fulness to men. This finds its way into everyone who grows up breathing and swimming in it, and once inside us it remains, however unaware of it we maybe.” This brings to mind the snapshot by Lizbeth Bolanos, as it illustrates a web created by man that women appear to be trapped in. Women have been trapped and made to follow this cycle of oppression for so long that’s its practically embedded in us. Women continue to struggle and fight to break to this cycle even though it can sometimes feel futile. Men are also trapped in this web whether they want to admit it or not this idea of gender roles don’t just hurt women but men as well. They create stereotypes such as “men don’t cry” or “men shouldn’t do household chores” Which limits them and forces them to retain the status quo instead of breaking cycle. As women we must keep speaking up and holding men accountable for their oppressive actions, educating them not just us but for future generations.
I personally believe that its not just men anymore, maybe that’s how it started but different races and cultures have adopted this way of thinking. In my family men aren’t pressured nearly as much as the females. I grew up in a single parent household and my mother would constantly ask me to clean and do dishes, but never my brother stating “he’s a boy” it would always make me feel less than him. Maybe I can understand if it came from a man but hearing it from my own mother is a testament to how deeply imbedded this patriarchal way of thinking is.
