I really enjoyed both these readings. The Allan Johnson article was especially profound, just because it was so long with so much information. When he mentioned how we always say, “it’s the system, blame it on the system”, no one ever really asked or explains what that means. What is the systems and who created it and why. I don’t know, and hear people say that all the time, which is fine, it’s true, but it is so good to be reminded that we need to get more information.

I think my life is painted in a certain way that I don’t see the extremes of patriarchy as much as I am surely surrounded by the nuances. Meaning, I am not around a lot of people who think men should be masculine and tough, that they shouldn’t treat women well, or that women should not work and just be mothers. However, i do see people fighting to change from being this way, and sometimes over correcting, flip flopping and trying to make changes themselves. Which in this article makes very clear that is not the way. All that said, I know I still live in a very patriarchal society, even if some of the people are “dressed up” to look a different way. And that is where and why it is really useful and helpful that articles like this are out there so we at least know what to start trying to look for to learn about how to make change.