How Patriarchy Theory hamstrings feminist approaches to addressing men's issues.

86 points33 commentssubmitted by Forgetaboutthelonely to r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates

Originally a comment by /u/gurthanix that I thought deserved it's own post.

The adoption of patriarchy theory as the model that explains gender relations is at fault here. Once you've accepted as an axiom that "we live in a patriarchy", it's inevitable that any problem faced (primarily or exclusively) by men must belong to an ontologically different category from problems faced by women. Any framework based on patriarchy theory will severely hamstring you when and if you seek to address men's problems.

When feminist pressure groups blocked a gender-neutral definition of rape in Israel, their argument relied on the idea that "we live in a patriarchy", and therefore equality under the law was unfair. When feminists in Australia wrote domestic violence education programs that intentionally exclude male victims and female perpetrators, their claim was that domestic violence was rooted in patriarchy. When universities refuse to create mental health centers for men (to complement the existing services for women), their justification is invariably "we live in a patriarchy" and therefore the whole world is a support center for men.

The only way a feminist lens can be used to effectively help men who are suffering is if that particular flavour of feminism rejects patriarchy theory. Naturally, you won't find many such feminists.