Abstract As well, "patriarchy" is the foundation of women's oppression, and neither of the phenomena can be understood without the other. Therefore, embedded in the sad reality that we cannot discuss women's problems without discussing them in relation to men's interests. Also seen is how the women are locked into economic dependency, which is the crucial factor in understanding why women are oppressed. The views of Engel and Marx are used to understand this topic.
Abstract This paper examines the history of a male-dominated society. It reviews Riane Eisler's classic, "The Chalice and the Blade". The paper explains that, in matriarchy, fighting was to defend self and home, whereas in patriarchy, fighting was to take territory and possessions, to increase that which was owned, and to prove dominance. It is this dominance that is at the heart of the changes described in Eisler's book.
From the Paper "Even after much of the overt worship of goddesses had been changed and surpressed, the forms remain in the Shekhina of Hebrew tradition and of course, the Catholic Virgin Mary. The Mother remains, in disguise. For about 5000 years, society has been run on increasingly male-dominated and patriarchal lines with, it seems increasingly destructive results. When societies honored the earth as the supplier of all that was needed, it would have been impossible"even if the technology had been present"for people to mindlessly destroy the very foundations of all life."
Abstract In this paper, an analysis of the rise of patriarchy in Ancient Greek society is provided by means of an analysis of the character of Clytemnestra as she is portrayed in Aeschylus' Oresteia and other Greek epics, that show that she is shunned and pays the ultimate price for her autonomy.
From the Paper "Patriarchy generally refers to the dominance of males in a social hierarchy. We see that most cultures and societies throughout history have been dominated by males. The rise of patriarchy often had the impact ..."
Tags: Agamemnon, heroic, war, domestic, gender, roles, norms, values, oppression, family, Gods, culture, society
Abstract This paper discusses patriarchy, the social system still prevalent today, whereby males are still perceived as the "strong" one and that boys naturally will be more active, demanding, noisy, and competitive than girls. The paper concludes that what began in prehistoric times as a cooperative system for survival, has become an albatross and we are stuck with living in a patriarchal society where women are to some extent, still oppressed.
From the Paper "Boys will consistently get more attention and more of the teacher's time. While girls will be expected to raise their hands before speaking (and corrected if they don't), boys will be allowed to blurt out answers in class. Girls will be "less likely to be called on by name ...asked fewer complex and abstract questions, receive less praise or constructive feedback, and ... given less direction on how to do things..." (Sadker, 2002, p. 239). Later on, boys will enroll in advanced computer classes, but girls will be in word processing and other clerical support programs (Sadker, 2002). Eventually, all this will be reflected in the careers they choose. Women will enroll in college programs to be teachers, social workers, nurses, and librarians, but only 7-14% of the men will enroll in these programs. Men will go instead where there is money and power."
A look at the argument that misogyny has nothing to do with religion, only with the religious patriarchy who want full control over women and reproduction.
Abstract This paper argues that the traditions and rules established by the world's major religions which relegate women to the sidelines and even promote subjugation and oppression use their sacred texts to justify their actions. It contends that there is no evidence within these texts that misogynistic attitudes were originally promoted by the authors or author groups and that the ruling patriarchies have simply used these texts by "interpreting" them to suit their desires for power.
From the Paper "The Genesis story is most often cited as proof that women are sinful in nature and in partnership with the devil. Since this story has parallels in most of the major cultures of the world and in all the major religions, this interpretation has proliferated. "The myth was used by early churchmen as a vehicle for expressing their horror and disgust at women's bodies: 'What is the difference whether it is in a wife or in a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any other woman," wrote St Augustine in the late fourth century." Over time women became characterized by the major religions as sinful, lustful, and were even accused and executed as witches. "
Abstract This paper explains how Clinton's book addresses the lives of the plantation women in question. It shows how the book looks at the effects of patriarchy on the lives of the plantation mistresses. Although rich white women certainly had more freedom than slaves, Clinton argues that they, too, faced oppression as a result of patriarchy.
From the Paper "Much of the literature concerning women in the South is centered around "chivalrous cavaliers and belles in hoop skirts" (xi). Author Catherine Clinton believes that due to a "New Englandization" of women's history in the United States, much of the lives of Southern women were distorted into myths, folklore and stereotype. As a result, Clinton argues, "relatively little is actually known of women's work in the ante-bellum South" (7). Since much of the literature on life in the South focused on the planters themselves, the lives of white plantation mistresses were further subject to Scarlett O'Hara images."
Abstract The patriarchy has been in place for years, placing women subject to their 'beauty', rather than their character or brains. This paper discusses how the patriarchy has caused women to reevaluate who they are by how they look and how others perceive them. It looks at how the idea of the "perfect" woman is set by standards that rely on a definition of perfect that we as society have put into play.
From the Paper "Culture has left us to believe that big is bad. More often than ever, women are struggling with their weight, and will do anything to lose those few pounds, and be "beautiful" again. As written by Chernik in her article, "The Body Politic", society praised her unhealthily skinny figure. The patriarchy loved her thin waist, no matter how hungry or sick she was. She was beautiful. She even states that her starving was another success for the patriarchy (Chernik 123). Women who are able to control their weight and keep themselves fragile and skinny are powerful, and feel powerful. As long as society continues to applaud skin and bones as beautiful, healthy women will be considered physically ugly."
Abstract This paper looks at Margery Kempe's book through a feminist lens, and describes her attempts to gain acceptance by subverting the very patriarchy whose acceptance she sought. The paper outlines the visions Kempe received from Christ, and her subsequent dependence on these visions and her need for spiritual validation.
From the Paper "Margery Kempe (1373?-1448?), medieval laywoman and visionary, completed a book near the end of her life (with the help of scribes) which detailed her life relating to visions she received from Christ starting at the age of twenty. Reading The Book of Margery Kempe from a feminist viewpoint can open up the text in a way which helps the reader understand Margery's struggles to be heard and to be accepted, as well as why she may have been so desperate to free her life of carnal pleasures. By looking at the Book in this manner, one realizes that Margery needed others, men in particular, to validate her. The Book scarcely mentions Margery's contact with other laywomen, and other holy women are mentioned primarily as comparisons with Margery designed to authenticate her actions. The paucity of women is due to their inability to further her appeals for acceptance by the church; only learned and influential men could do that. So, ironically, Margery needed the very patriarchy whose dominance she wished to be free from. Without the pleasures she once derived from living in the world, Margery needed Jesus to speak to her everyday, she needed the mystical marriage with the Godhead, and, most importantly, she needed for clerics and bishops to validate her spirituality. Even if Margery rejected the bodily life associated with her husband, she nonetheless needed men to establish her place in the world. Whether these men were her scribes, her confessors, or Christ himself, Margery relied on them to maintain her chaste life."
This paper examines patriarchy in Asian cultures: Sociocultural roots of traditional sex roles, stereotyping, feminist views, infanticide and Asian-American students.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 25 sources, 1995, $ 71.95
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine issues surrounding the subject of patriarchy in Asian cultures. The plan of the research will be to set forth the sociological context in which patriarchal values appear to surface in such cultures, and then to discuss the implications of socially based sex roles that demonstrate patterns of male dominance on one hand, or outright misogyny on the other.
In recent years there appears to have been an increase of interest in the status and changeability of social roles of both men and women in all cultures. Research into socially determined sex roles of Asians both inside and outside Asia has been a part of this increase. By and large, research studies appear to indicate that traditional patterns of social behavior persist where sex roles are concerned."
This paper discusses that patriarchy and androcentrism, which gives preferential treatment to men, are embedded in social and political structures globally.
1,385 words (approx. 5.5 pages), 5 sources, 2002, $ 46.95
Abstract This paper discusses that globally whether in Scandinavia, where women have the most opportunities for economic and political life, to countries like the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, where women cannot vote or go to school, women are at a distinct disadvantage compared to men. The author points out that patriatchy and androcentrism is so engrained in the worlds? cultures that we do not realize it. The paper concludes that even in the United States, there is a danger of neglecting the needs of women, because of a mistaken belief that equality has been attained.
From the Paper "Martha Nussbaum observes that women are consistently less nourished than men and consequently, less healthy. Women are less likely to be literate or receive schooling and job training. Many who choose to enter the workforce face need to overcome objections from their family or community as well as issues like discriminatory hiring and promotion practices and sexual harassment. In many countries, women are not allowed to vote and do not have the same political and economic rights as men. They cannot own property, choose their own mates or decide whether or not to have children. In addition, many women who work are also responsible for care-giving and other household duties."
Tags: language, religion, catholic, discrimination, arab
Abstract This paper examines Alice Walker's "The Color Purple", a confessional and uninhibited look at the life of Celie, a poor, black woman in the Deep South. It discusses how Celie's life is a complicated story of both community and individuality and how as a woman, she is surrounded by societal expectations and traditional gender scriptings. It shows how the story is a contrast between the traditional gender roles and while some characters embody certain behaviors and attitudes indicative of their sex, others denounce the long-holding patriarchy defining sexism and gender interactions. It evaluates how, in developing each of her characters throughout the novel, Walker overtly specifies how each does not meet the conventional mold.
From the Paper "As the bonds between Celie and Sofia grow following their original clash, Walker introduces another female character. This time, the semi-famous former lover of Mr.____ comes to stay at their household while she recuperates from a grave illness. At first, Shug Avery is hateful towards Celie. She mocks her good intentions, orders her around, and calls her ugly. Yet Celie feels nothing but awestruck towards this woman. Celie also begins to have conflicting erotic feelings for Shug; feelings she does not understand when seeing Shug naked and giving her a bath. The course of this relationship drives towards lesbianism. "
Abstract This paper studies the concepts of matriarchy and patriarchy as portrayed within the ancient Greek tragedy "The Oresteia" by Aeschylus. Aeschylus believed a matriarchal society was destructive and used his play to make this point. The paper examines how he used both human characters and gods to represent both sides of the issue.
From the Paper "The Oresteia, a trilogy by Aeschylus, contains many independent themes woven in amongst one another. Perhaps the most prevalent theme in the plays is the conversion from a matriarchal society to patriarchal a society. In antiquity, societies were by and large patriarchal and, because he is of this time, Aeschylus attempts to describe how bad things would be if this wasn?t so. In order to understand how and why the transformation from a matriarchal to patriarchal society takes place in the Oresteia, one must examine these changes on both the human and the divine levels."
This paper discusses that, in an era of gender equality, it is easy to overlook how structures of patriarchy continue to dominate the lives of women, both here in the United States and around the world.
Abstract This paper argues that gender stereotypes are reinforced and reproduced through various social structures such as the media, through generally accepted employment practices and through the norms and expectations regarding women's roles. This paper explains that the foundations of patriarchy and the preferential treatment of boys and men are planted in early childhood, as young girls are socialized into the less active, nurturer roles. The author details how these stereotypes affect the economic status of women, particularly in the area of their finances.
Table of Contents
Gender Stereotypes in Early Childhood
Gender and Work
Hiring Practices
Opportunities for Advancement
Gender Wage Gap
Conclusion
From the Paper "Many experts agree that children establish ideas about gender very early in life, and that television increasingly contributes to these gendered expectations. For example, in many television shows targeted at children five and older, many women were portrayed as housewives, waitresses and secretaries, while men were seen in roles like construction workers and doctors. Despite a growing awareness of the role of television in creating stereotypes, experts believe that the majority of women in television do not reflect the changes in society.
Even in programs as seemingly innocuous as the Teletubbies and Barney, males serve as leaders and directors of action, while females act as followers. Neither program show adult women in non-stereotypical roles. In Teletubbies, even the non-human characters are gendered in terms of color, voice and by the shape of their antennas. As a result, these programs send a subtle but powerful message regarding gender expectations, particularly at a time when children are most receptive to internalizing such assumptions."
Tags: teletubbies, stereotype, finances, preferential, gap
Abstract This paper examines how the divisions rooted in race, gender and sexuality are consistently used in our society to maintain a level of profitability and also to create obvious divisions among the social classes. It looks at how the American society is based on a form of patriarchy which means that a society is principally ruled or dominated by males throughout all levels of society and in our society's case -- white males. It evaluates how discrimination has become institutionalized in the United States and how in the eyes of minorities, social inequality equates to discrimination.
From the Paper "Negative stereotypes support these social inequalities? ?We learn the subtext of our culture's messages early. By five years of age, says Margo Monteith, Ph.D., many children have definite and entrenched stereotypes about blacks, women, and other social groups. Adds Monteith, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky: "Children don't have a choice about accepting or rejecting these conceptions, since they're acquired well before they have the cognitive abilities or experiences to form their own beliefs." And no matter how progressive the parents, they must compete with all the forces that would promote and perpetuate these stereotypes: peer pressure, mass media, the actual balance of power in society."
Abstract This essay discusses Cruz's "Poems, Protest, and a Dream : Selected Writings". The paper focuses on Cruz's argument against the sexism and patriarchy within the Church. As a nun who lived in seventeenth century Mexico, she distinguished herself as a writer and intellectual. Because of this, the Church tried to silence her, since she was outside of her "gender role" in her intellectual pursuits. Thus, one of the strongest pieces in this book is her defense of the status of women, and their right to also pursue intellectual activities.
