It is important to recognize patriarchy as a system and not an individual identity because it isn’t something we chose to do or take part in, it was bestowed onto us. Patriarchy was basically drilled into us from birth and, from then on, was placed everywhere. As if it was a requirement in life, it shaped how we act, do things, and say. Patriarchy is when there is an imbalance of power, and a specific there can’t be changed. And instead, we would be run as hopeless puppets.

On the structural level, patriarchy is the system, and it is the standard by which we live and is what is considered the norm. Such as the men going to wars, not because they want to but because it’s the law, all while women are expected to stay back and care for the child. This then leads us to the institutional level. There is an unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards, and resources in the workplace for women. both parents may be working outside the home, and women are likely to work lower-level pink collars jobs. On the interpersonal level, patriarchy shapes the action of a man and what they are most likely to do in certain situations. It somewhat shapes their beliefs and sometimes blinds them to what is right and what’s wrong. Johnson gives us an example” when a young college male student at part observes another man taking sexual advantage of young women who’s drunk” he then explains how multiple options will go through his head. Still, ultimately he won’t step in. this is mainly because ” to not get in the way of another man making use of women have certain beliefs that oppose the rules of patriarchy. For example, when a man abuses or harasses a woman, the man won’t intervene often, and women stay quiet. This is because men have always been given the power to dominate women, and women are weak and powerless. But once someone finally decides to be different and go against what’s seen as normal, this is when the influence on all levels of oppression is seen. For example, if a man realizes that his beliefs are wrong and isn’t afraid to stand by them, his action and choices change. Once action changes, he can push for change that would eventually change what is seen as the new normal or truth. The same applies to women; once there is a change in belief, she realizes that she can be strong and have power, and with that change a new norm will come about.

It is important to recognize the patriarchy as a system and not an individual indentity because it is a system, it was created to oppress a specific group of people while simultaneously powering another group. A man doesn’t have the patriarchy as a part of his identity, but his actions or words can portray that he supports the patriarchy as a patriarchist.

Lorde does an amazing job explaining that we as humans all have things that either oppress us or give us some sort of privilege, however they’re not things that can be seperated, which perfectly explains intersectionality. She’s a black lesbian mother, poet, feminist, and more “Any attack against black people is a lesbian and gay issue… Any attack against lesbians and gays is a black issue… There is no hiearchy.” This ties back greatly to the example of all humans being cakes instead of salads because everything that makes us up, whether it oppresses or gives us privilege mixes in and becomes one form: our self.

The structural level addressed for the example in the text of a man raping a woman dives into the fact that first, before we ask why we should also inspect what kind of society that man grew up in. “From wife beating jokes to the routine inclusion of sexual coercion and violence in mainstream movies… what kind of society would produce so much male anger and pathology” (Johnson 28). Then we touch upon the institutional aspect of the patriarchy, for example women in porn are portrayed as very submissive, easy to control and sometimes violently exploited but our Constitution allows people to produce and distribute these things for profit and ‘enjoyment’. Women are expected to be a very specific way because of the patriarchy, they should know how to cook, be a caregiver, have the trending body type of the decade, easy to dominate etc etc. The institutional aspect of the patriarchy portrays this through media, in magazines, movies, tv shows we constantly see the depictions of how society expects women to be whether that’s super sexual or mind bafflingly innocent, there’s a model. This then effects the interpersonal level because men speak about women differently and treat them differently than other men. They do ‘favors’ for women (holding doors open, the ‘ladies first’ mentality, paying the bill) and usually expect some favor back as a reward. On the other side of the spectrum some men look down on women, they belittle and berate them, because they don’t believe a woman could do what a man can do. I believe the interpersonal and personal elvels always merge together, especially in this context.

It is important to recognize patriarchy as a system and not an individual identity because it is something that is taught. People are not automatically discriminatory. The patriarchal system instills hierarchy and advocates for oppression. This system was built in order to maintain a hierarchy based on things like gender, race, and class. Society was built around patriarchy and the ideas that originate from that system continue to be passed down.

The structural aspect of the patriarchy is the root of the issue. Our societal foundation causes the patriarchy to affect institutional, interpersonal, and personal oppression. Patriarchal culture puts men, especially white men, on a pedestal that gives them automatic privilege. This creates a mindset that men are more valuable and socially above others. Fostering misogyny, racism, and sexism. This structural oppression leads into institutional oppression. Since men are made to be superior in society, they are given superior opportunities and treatment. Their institutional advantages are disadvantages and oppressors for others. Institutional and structural oppression then leads into interpersonal and personal oppression because that same hierarchical mindset continues in personal matters. Society enforces that men are superior and everyone else is less than. The mistreatment, unappreciation, abuse, and oppression of those considered “less than” is normalized.

In Patriarchy, The System, Allan Johnson writes, “patriarchy is, by definition, a system of inequality organized around culturally created gender categories, we cannot avoid being involved in it. All men and all women are therefore involved in this oppressive system, and none of us can control whether we participate, only how” (pg.14). It is essential to recognize patriarchy as a system rather than an individual because we cannot simply blame it on a single person if it’s overall a collective mindset. As individuals, we participate in the system but have the power to decide what choices we make in order to dismantle it. Patriarchy is a part of our everyday lives, whether conscious or not.
The different levels of oppression in which patriarchy may work are personal. Interpersonal, institutional, and structural/cultural. From a personal level, a man may be distrustful of women, may find their success threatening, and may view them as objects rather than people. On an interpersonal level, a man could be physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive towards women and feel that they are allowed to act that way because they are superior. An example of the institutional level of oppression, women are often viewed as weak and spoken over. It is more common for a man to be promoted and run a business or company than a woman because women are seen as incapable. An example of structural/ cultural oppression in which patriarchy may work is that we are taught that women are delicate and need a man’s help for many things. The very false idea that a woman wouldn’t be able to do certain things without a man. Overall the different levels indicate that men have power over women, and we are born into this long-standing system where most of us participate unconsciously.
Audre Lorde’s “There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions” states, “Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian…I cannot afford the luxury of fighting one form of oppression only”. These lines helped me understand why there isn’t hierarchy when it comes to oppression. Any attack that a person receives affects all oppressed parts of that person. One isn’t greater than the other because they all influence one another in a way. Allan Johnson also wrote some words that helped me understand it on a deeper level. “…by participating in patriarchy we are of patriarchy and it is of us. Both exist through the other, and neither exists without the other” (pg.14).

Themes such as privilege, discrimination, stereotypes and oppression are very common in society.  For example, the article “Patriarchy, the System: An it, Not a He, a Them, or an Us” by Allan Johnson shows that oppression is not always the concept that many of us have.  He argues how for people as soon as someone mentions the word oppression, they immediately think of the term patriarchy with men.  It mentions “simply the sum of individual failures on the part of people of color, women, and people living in poverty, who lack the right things to successfully compete with whites, men, and others who know how to do something for themselves”.  (Johnson 27). This quote exposes how people of color are attacked, like many women, because they live in poverty both economically and mentally, they get used to living in an oppressive way, all this is due to the lack of resources that many times they lead people to adapt, to have less and to deserve less, this leads the person to live limited and oppressed, this is because many times people get used to it because they think that since they are in poverty they believe that they will never be able to get out of it and that their life must go on like this because they have no choice but it is not true. For me patriarchy was the way in which one person can have influence over another but it is not like that. Patriarchy is a system of society or better said, created by the society when men have the power and women are in large part.  As Johnson says, many times the gender preferences of citizens are initiated by socialization.  One of the mechanisms is when a citizen helps with social problems because he is helping him to get to know more people and himself. To finish this article, it teaches us to see society and patriarchy from a different perspective, to analyze the system we have in society, to volunteer in the system, learn social issues and learn to differentiate gender oppression.

 On the other hand, in the essay “There is no hierarchy of oppression” by Audre Lorde, he further develops this concept.  That a person should not be isolated simply because of their gender, or skin color because that does not define them and then wanting to overcome their identity, how people classify someone depending on their knowledge and social experience, he argued “As black, lesbian, feminist , socialist, poet, mother of two children, one of them, and member of an interracial couple”.  This shows that by acknowledging her race and gender, she refuses to ignore the oppression she suffers as a result of what she identifies with.  This helps people know how and when an action turns into oppression , they must know their rights to know how to defend themselves and how not to fall into being oppressed by someone with ignorance .

Hello Professor and Classmate I hope everyone is well, …Allan Johnson, “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us” was an interesting reading. It Informed me on the issue of patriarchy and how citizens in the society play a part in the system. As a young Man still learning and understanding the Idea of Patriarchy slips my mind. Patriarchy is something we are institutionally born into So I could be a part of it without knowing. Through expectations, rules, ideas of what a female and male should do, individuals participate in the system with or without knowing. Patriarchy is taught to me and others from a young age. Some of us kind of just went along with it. The definition of Patriarchy is a system of society or government that is male-dominated, male identified, and male-centered basically oppressing women.  In general, the whole idea of patriarchy is not right and something that should continue. We see examples of this in the news, books, television and real life. Over time understanding the problem comes with thinking about a solution. Allen states a couple things that helps me come to conclusion for a solution “It may not be us; it may be larger than us it may not be us, but it does not happen except THROUGH us” explaining that this is more of a systematic problem & the term patriarchy & men, lead to believing that men are oppressive. Johnson explains that these misconceptions must be dispelled in order to solve social dilemmas. We have to stop our future generations from following the same paths. Leaving the idea of Patriarchy completely as it is to create a different system of socialization is the way to go. 

Audre Lorde, “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” expresses the thought that All oppressions must be recognized and fought against simultaneously. Her Views and emotion throughout the story support it all… I am very aware of Oppression in the world. I’ve been oppressed before for my height, my skin color, or the things I like by people. From personal experiences Oppression hurts Nobody should feel pressured unless what they believe in is harmful to humanity Like racist beliefs. Throughout the reading she talks about her views of oppression, what She and the people like her Go through. From how it sounds Audre states that she is Black, Lesbian, And A Feminist, A mother and more. Other than her there are many people like her that believe in similar things. She is looked at as deviant, difficult, inferior or just plain “wrong” to most people. Being Black does come with some kind of oppression, but why because of a person’s skin, Being Lesbian causes Oppression because they choose to like the same Sex. There is nothing wrong with that. People shouldn’t go through Feeling oppressed for what they believe in. One form of oppression is not better than the other or important than the other.  

When topics like oppression, male privileges and many more are discussed, most often, from beginning to end, are associated with an individual. The author, Allan G. Johnson indicates that what we sometimes term as oppression, could in fact not be oppression at al. It is stated, “merely the sum of individual failings on the part of people of color, women, and people living in poverty, who lack the right stuff to compete successfully with whites, men and others who know how to make something of themselves” (Johnson 27). This statement regarding people of color, women sometimes being associated and disconcerted with poverty and oppression. The lack of opportunities and resources disproportionate people into thinking that their situations are in effect because of oppression and/or patriarchy. Allan Johnson states, “if we see patriarchy as nothing more than men’s and women’s individual personalities, motivations and behavior, then it won’t occur to us to ask about larger contexts”. Patriarchy seems to involve a whole lot more than a single line of circumstances, but a whole lot of system; it is much broader and deeper than what is presumed. We should take into consideration bigger factors, like how much society, religion contributes to countless outputs. As stated by the author, our personalities and gender preference are sometimes initiated through socialization. Interacting and “participating” in social affairs constitutes to an individual finding his or her true self or identity. The author sights his thoughts on the fact that as individuals, we sometimes react or respond consciously or unconsciously to certain circumstances based on how society puts forth, in other words how society expects us to. “We are participating something bigger than ourselves”. In this reading, we are confronted about agonizing truth that “human beings are the ones who make social systems happen”. Socialization, societal norms, and beliefs, set theories are a part of the system that is made up by us. The manipulated system created can also be made different by generation of today. It is in our power to amend the system that was put in place only to favor a particular group. 

Audre Lorde states, “There is no hierarchy of oppression”. This quote expresses on the fact that oppression comes in various forms and not directed to a particular or specific race or gender. The author wants to be her true self, “As a Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, poet, mother if two including one boy and a member of an interracial couple”. Acknowledging her race and gender, she refuses to ignore the oppression she endures as a result of what she identifies as. 

There is an incapable distance between the biological father and the offspring that can only be eliminated fully by jailing a woman and avoiding any other man from having access to her. This is why patriarchal societies by necessity become societies of control and separation. If we believe that patriarchy should make a change, we should let the difference be known and make it stand out. So that people know what blocking us is a system, not any individual identity. The patriarchy controls women’s fertility and reproduction because it is so powerful for the endurance of life. Oppressors are not interested in whether that is in the best interests of the babies or women but will go to great lengths to debate and control fertility at every step. At level one, challenging one part of patriarchy inherently leads to challenging each other. This is one way to explain why the idea of women’s freeing led so soon to the idea of men’s freeing, which technically means letting men go from the patriarchal sexual dynamics they now experience with each other.

Patriarchy is something we are institutionally born into. It isn’t “human instinct.” It is slowly taught to us in spoken and unspoken rules, expectations, ideas of what a female and male should be, and their respective roles in society.
In “Patriarchy, The System” Allan Johnson places emphasis on the Patriarchy not as an individual character reflection, but a societal structure/system that has consciously and subconsciously taught us to be oppressive. Johnson urges us to go beyond the individual and analyze Patriarchy in wider contexts like family and religion. (Go intersectionality!) Johnson states that although “It may not be us, it may be larger than us it may not be us, but it does not happen except THROUGH us”  (It being Patriarchy/Sexism) It may be systemic, but we are fueling it in what we do and how we act. Sometimes men are defensive about the patriarchy, because they see it as an attack upon themself as an individual. In a sense, perhaps it is an attack; because if a man is to admit to the consequences of a patriarchal society, then he must acknowledge that the ways in which he is benefitting from the Patriarchy are causing harm and death to others groups. John explains, “It is about defining women and men as opposites, about the ‘naturalness’ of male aggression, competition, and dominance on the one hand and of female caring, cooperation, and subordination on the other. It is about the valuing of masculinity and manhood and the devaluing of femininity and womanhood. It is about the primary importance of a husband’s career and the secondary status of a wife’s, about child care as a priority in women’s lives and its secondary importance in men’s. It is about the social acceptability of anger, rage, and toughness in men but not in women, and of caring, tenderness, and vulnerability in women but not in men.”
On a personal, individual level a man might feel women are inferior, sexual objects and their words hold no weight. On an interpersonal level, this man might sexually harass females he encounters, and also speak over them.
Institutionally, ignoring women’s voices is normalized, especially in the workplace. The majority of people in “Boss” positions are male, and usually white too. Men are more likely to be promoted, praised or credited at work. This view of women as “weak” and as objects, also leads to rampant sexual harassment of females in the workplace, usually by superiors. Socioculturally we are taught to believe that women are weak and submissive while men are strong, aggressive and dominant; that it is a man’s “right” to take from others.

I’ll begin by defining patriarchy, because I don’t yet have a definition that I can say I am completely satisfied with which wraps up every underlying meaning. These meanings I feel as though must be portrayed in order to fully understand Patriarchy and the concepts within it. Most importantly, I’d discuss what patriarchy has to do with men and what it has to do with all of us. Alongside these varying contributions, expressing my deep concerns about continuing to operate within the patriarchal paradigm that has been with us. At least those of us who are part of Western civilization, for some time now. Ultimately I’d conclude by saying what I believe each of us can do about these already deeply rooted structures. Allan Johnson defines patriarchy in his article “Patriarchy, the System,” and addresses the common misconceptions and stereotypes that people associate with the term. He claims that people tend to generalize and associate the term patriarchy with men, leading them to believe that all men are oppressive. Johnson contends that these misconceptions must be dispelled in order to solve social dilemmas, for example “If we’re ever going to work toward real change, it’s a confusion we’ll have to clear up.” (Johnson) Johnson effectively identifies common misconceptions about patriarchy and convincingly argues that this ignorance and individualist perspective is contributing to societal problems. As In Audre Lorde passage she speaks about specific social intersections on which she explained through the eyes of black, lesbian, feminist, socialist and interracial lovers. Her message, however, can be applied to a wide range of social realities to account for differences in ethnicity, age, class, geography, ability, and so on. Additionally stating that, “I have learned that sexism and heterosexism both arise from the same source as racism”(Lorde). Here Lorde implied that oppression doesn’t necessarily know any progressing boundary concepts, if oppression against one group is allowed to flourish, it will eventually spread to oppress others.

A key point of the many things that may make it complicated to actually speak about patriarchy, or any of other systems following it, is that most people’s awareness of systems as distinct from the individuals who live within and are affected by them has been systematically rooted out. Instead, everything is viewed as a separate problem with separate results. Unfortunately, this is also why the main achievements of a wave of feminism in the United States, for example, have been at the individual level, such as access to more types of jobs and education, or increased reproductive choice. There has been very little change in the system that I refer to as patriarchy, and individual changes have not been available to women who are darker-skinned and/or of limited economic means in an essence.