Week 5: Johnson "Patriarchy"

women reflection in a patriarchal society

"the more powerful a woman is under patriarchy, the more unsexed she becomes in the eyes of others as her female cultural identity recedes beneath the mantle of male identified power and the masculine images associated with it. with men the effect is the opposite: the more powerful they are, the more aware we are of their maleness. POWER LOOKS SEXY ON MEN BUT NOT ON WOMEN" (page 131).

"At the heart of patriarchy is the oppression of women which takes several forms" (page 133).

-being excluded from major institutions -the work women do seems invalued

Patriarchy

-male dominated, male-identified, and male-centered society -involves the oppression of women - "can accommodate a limited number of powerful women so long as the society retains its essential patriarchal model" (page 131). -"the power of patriarchy is reflected in its ability to absorb the pressures of a superficial change as a defense against deeper challenges" (page 133).

power difference between male and female

-men can shape culture in their own ways that reflect and serve male interests -promotes the idea that males are superior to females -"every man's standing in relationship to women is enhanced by the male monopoly over authority in patriarchal societies"

we'd rather not know

-society refuses to use the word patriarchy -some women stand up for change but it is dangerous to break the silence -"gender oppression is linked to a cultural devaluing of femaleness itself" (page 135). - "a group cannot oppress itself" (page 135). -a group cannot be oppressed by society, "Oppression is a relation that exists between groups, not between groups and society as a whole" (page 136). -"WE CAN DO A LOT ABOUT WHAT WE PASS ON TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW US" (page 137).

symbolic word

when we refer to doctors as he, men are put in the foreground and women in the back