Patriarchy Schmatriarchy

IHaveALargePenis · 2012-02-07T06:18:15+00:00

I hear a lot about patriarchal oppression within feminist circles, and in my opinion, I think it’s largely a load of hooey.

One thing people need to take into consideration is how ridiculous these allegations of "oppression" truly are. According to feminists, women are being oppressed even when they make the wrong choices. If a woman would rather be a part time waitress rather than a construction worker working 50+ hours a week, when the pay is added up for both at the end of the year, the woman is apparently "being oppressed".

I could never understand how anyone could take feminists seriously while they're making ridiculous claims and blaming it on some male entity, while simultaneously ignoring all the men who get a raw deal and comparing every woman to the top 1% of men out there.

C0CKPUNCHER · 2012-02-07T06:10:14+00:00

Quoting the article to minimize their traffic:

" Is patriarchy really to be blamed for sexism and female oppression?

I hear a lot about patriarchal oppression within feminist circles, and in my opinion, I think it’s largely a load of hooey.

This is not to say that I don’t believe that patriarchy has been around for the vast majority of our species’ time on this planet–of course it has. And this is not to say that I believe women haven’t suffered from oppression throughout the course of history, or that strict enforcement of gender roles isn’t harmful to individuals.

But the feminist interpretation of patriarchy as a system of oppression of women…it seems to be kind of wilfully detached from the reality of human history. It seems like a concerted effort to marry the idea of patriarchy with the concept of oligarchy into a single two-headed, double-penised beast known as Patriarchy Theory. This marriage of two completely disparate sociological concepts is, to feminists, a self-evident truth, simply because the majority of the agents of the oligarchy are, and always have been, male.

Oligarchy is indeed a system of oppression, where the majority of real power and influence is held by a small network of individuals and families, who depend on the subservience of everybody else. While it may not always include barbed wire, machine guns and a police state, it is designed in such a way as to suck resources from the masses and funnel them, and the power they afford, to the members of the elite.

Because those elites have such power, they are able to influence legislative policy in such a way as to maintain and increase their power. And yes, the US is an oligarchy–it may be a democracy, where individuals are able to cross lines of class between modern serfdom and the top tier, but the 500 richest individuals in the US hold as much wealth as the bottom 150 000 000 combined. That, my friends, is oligarchy.

Oligarchical power structures, by their nature, tend to be self-perpetuating. As the saying goes, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, usually until someone says something about peasants and cake, something snaps among the masses, and the pitchforks come out. Given how well off even the least wealthy members of western civilization are (children aren’t dropping like flies for lack of a loaf of bread), that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. Oligarchy is the root of classism, and classism is the root of much of racism, and yes, sexism as well.

Patriarchy, however, is not an inherently oppressive idea. It is simply a way that the base-unit of society–the family–was organized. And it’s been the way that societies, large and small, have been organized pretty much since the dawn of time, and for good reason. Families were led by a male head of household, major decisions lay under the aegis of those family leaders, and lines of descent passed through males. That is, quite simply, all patriarchy is. And up until very recently on the continuum of human history, it was the most beneficial system for both men and women. And contrary to what feminists would have you believe, in the west patriarchy is mostly a dead system.

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DarthOvious · 2012-02-07T12:10:01+00:00

Oh my goodness, the good men project published an article criticizing patriarchy theory.

My head is dizzy, I think I need to sit down.

themountaingoat · 2012-02-07T08:10:16+00:00

Is the GMP really starting to be more pro-MR? Because if so that is a positive sign.

c0mputar · 2012-02-07T13:07:10+00:00

Surprisingly good article. I'm sure the historical analysis is a little too generalized but it looks quite good nonetheless. My only real criticism of the debate is the easy use of the word oppression, not that I blame this author for using it so flippantly, it's just that the word is terribly overused because many feminists have stretched the definition so significantly.

aetheralloy · 2012-02-07T16:20:11+00:00

If we’re going to build a better society for everyone, we’re going to have to let go of the idea of Men as the main oppressive force in Women’s lives.

Feminists are never ever going to let that happen.

boywizard · 2012-02-07T20:10:00+00:00

Isn't this article from last year?

http://owningyourshit.blogspot.com/2011/07/patriarchy-shmatriarchy.html

carchamp1 · 2012-02-07T16:06:06+00:00

"And were we living in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where life outside of walls was as dangerous and brutal as most of raw nature is, and where hay would have to be cut by hand without mosquito repellent or sunscreen? I think I’d absolutely be okay with letting the men have their “agency”. Being stuck at home ain’t that bad if it means the gruelling, dirty work of survival belongs to someone else, and you get to stay alive."

What is so amazing is that, despite the fact that work outside the home is much more comfortable than post-apocalyptic, most women are still perfectly happy staying at home. Despite decades of opening opportunities for women, many are STILL detaching themselves from the workforce as soon as possible (that is as soon as they have a baby). Many more would if they could afford it.

I guess when you have de facto ownership of the children, special protections under VAWA, communism property, alimony, "child" support, etc. you don't need to work for your "agency".

NiceGuysSTFU · 2012-02-07T14:20:38+00:00

So with the addition of GWW Good Men Project is officially an MRA site now, right?

killyoureparents · 2012-02-07T13:08:06+00:00

"But the feminist interpretation of patriarchy as a system of oppression of women…"

Cool, another bunch of men's rights assholes jerking off to a strawman of feminism. And because a woman write it, you're validating your shitty opinions even more!

Title	Patriarchy Schmatriarchy
Author	lisahickey
Upvotes	14
Comments	25
Date	February 7, 2012 5:48 AM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/peba7/patriarchy_schmatriarchy/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/patriarchy-schmatriarchy.1028099 https://theredarchive.com/post/1028099

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