POWER AND SEXISM
Patriarchy is a social construction where the males are said to hold power, especially in the political arenas, moral authorities, in the control of properties as well as the male having other social privileges when compared to the feminists. From a historical perspective, patriarchy was deemed as the autocratic rule held by the heads of the family, though in modern times, it may not necessarily be the same as we live in a socialist community. Under the psychoanalytic theories, the term is misused as it applies to both gender and not only in the male figure. Any person who falls outside the oedipal triad of either, the mother, the father, or the child is deemed to be less subject of the male authority.
If my best friend or relative asked me if I thought whether the US is a patriarchal society, I would be hesitant, though indicate categorically that there seems to be the weakening of the male dominance but the patriarchal aspect not completely gone. Why I would say so comes from the fact that in the past few weeks, the US presidential campaigners consist of a woman. This by itself indicates that women have been given a chance to prove themselves that they are capable as seen by the many appointments of women in government, business, and other high-ranking women in the social circles. Despite this fact, looking at the composition of the known political and economic leaders, it is obvious that America is a male-dominated political and economic society (Gunew, 2013). At the same time, the media in a number of ways has accentuated patriarchal thoughts by promoting gender binaries, negative coverage of gender issues especially sexual violence among others. In the workplace, many men occupy the top positions thus signifying their domination
According to Strinati (2004), the concept of social feminism has retained the ideas of patriarchy by rejecting the biological definitions of gender, arguing that gender is socially and culturally constructed (188). This construction makes it possible for women to be divided along the lines of ethnicity, age, orientation among others. Norms, values from pop culture’s root in organizations giving privileges to males to access social capital and access of organizations capital/resources excluding women (Collins & Barnes, 2014)
References
Strinati, D. (2004). An introduction to theories of popular culture. Routledge.
Gunew, S. (Ed.). (2013). Feminist Knowledge (RLE Feminist Theory): Critique and Construct. Routledge.
Collins, L., & Barnes, S. L. (2014). Observing Privilege: Examining Race, Class, and Gender in Health and Human Service Organizations. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 6(1), 61.