Whenever patriarchy is mentioned, it is associated with women's oppression and therefore criticizes male privilege. The idea that all men are oppressive and look down on women as secondary to them prompts many men to take any accusation of patriarchy personally. Many men feel that patriarchy is brought up to make them feel guilty; this is not made easier because some women are not shy to blame men for patriarchy whenever they get the chance. Therefore, men may feel defensive sometimes since they relate with patriarchy and its key values and hence do not want to give up their male privilege (Johnson, 2005). However, others are defensive because they face a common confusion regarding people who participate in patriarchy and patriarchy itself as a kind of society.
Patriarchal culture is a broad discussion that involves ideas regarding the nature of things and people. It touches on women and men, whereby it associates masculinity with being human and relegating womanhood to the low position of 'other" (Johnson, 2005). It discusses social life, mentioning what is expected of people from both genders, how they are supposed to feel, and the standards for feminine beauty and masculine toughness. It associates womanhood with vulnerability, while masculinity is mentioned hand in hand with protectiveness. The patriarchal culture upholds and values masculinity and degrades feminity, dwelling on the core value of domination in all areas of human existence.
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Without understanding patriarchy as a system, the focus is always on changing the individual; people fail to see how social networks produce social problems reflected in individuals' behavior (Johnson, 2005). Focusing on changing the individual excludes people from realizing that they participate in patriarchy, which they did not create but can affect how they choose to participate.
References
Johnson, A. (2005). The gender knot: Unraveling our patriarchal legacy (2nd ed.). Temple University Press.
