Discuss some contemporary definitions of patriarchy. How valid is its use as a concept to analyse the subordination of women?
...and’s surname implies a sense of possessiveness. This also applies to the children of the couple. A child can almost immediately be connected to their father by the sharing of surnames. This same connection cannot be made to the mother. Also within family households it is more common that the male’s name will appear on household bills. This is perhaps a sign of the financial supporter and superior within the relationship. Barbara Crow in Radical Feminists (2000) claims that everything in our society consists of some element of patriarchy- our police force, governments, professions, schools etc. She takes the example of the government. Females make up 51% of its representative public yet this 51% is not represented within the world of politics. Is it not evitable that policies will reflect and contain a certain level of male favoured agendas? It is interesting to consider how many women actually hold powerful positions in the Governments around the world. Shulamith Firestone (1972) argues that the core of male domination is their control of female roles in reproduction and childrearing. In the Dialect of Sex Firestone quotes: “the material base for women’s oppression lies not in economics, but in biology.” She believes that patriarchy will remain a major part of women’s lives until the time when women are freed from the “tyranny of reproduction practices.” Hamilton (1978:11) agrees with Firestone: “Birth control, adoption and finally test tube babies will provide the maternal basis for overcoming the limitation of female biology.” Radical feminists have been criticised in their viewpoints for being too extreme. For example not all heterosexual relationships are characterised by oppression and exploitation. It has been criticised for trying to create stereotypical universal definitions on all relationships and does not consider historical or cultural facts. Marxists Feminists believe that “patriarchy arose from the workings of the capitalist economic system.” (Pilcher J and Whelehan I (2004)) They believe that women’s oppression is a result of class inequality in exploitative societies. The origins of women’s oppression can be found in the early days of capitalism which brought about the role of “housewife.” Simone de Beauvoir agrees that patriarchy and capitalism work together. She suggests that one of the ways to eliminate subordination is for women to enter paid employment and achieve independence of their own. This would reduce control and power of men. Marxists feminists have been criticised for ignoring patriarchy in pre- capitalist societies. Other feminists have argued that capitalism is merely an extension of patriarchal ideology and exploitation not a direct consequence of patriarchy. Black Feminists state that ending capitalism will not end the patriarchal oppression of women. Only the removal of the racial institutions will begin the eradicating of the patriarchal concept. Liberal Feminists are said to take a reformist approach and many of the other strands of feminism especially radical feminists have criticised them for not addressing the institutional aspects of patriarchy. They believe that there should be equal opportunity for women and men and thus do not only fight for equality for women but for men also. They agree that patriarchy concerns the power and domination of men. But they feel that patriarchy does not only affect women but men also especially in the workplace. In the wider society there is a different form of hierarchy and some men find themselves in the subordinate position with male powers being exerted on them. Liberal feminists would claim that in the fight for the eradication of patriarchy, the male victims would be ignored. They believe that once legalisation has changed then equal opportunities for all will prevail. Though most feminists support liberal reforms as a modest step on the way to a less oppressive society for females, Marxist Feminists claim that this approach is only encouraging women to compete in their own subordination. The above theorists agree that patriarchy can be used as a valid concept in analysing the subordination of women. However there are those who view the concept with much caution. It has been argued that the word patriarchy has been used in too many arguments in too many contexts and thus has lost its effectiveness in meaning. Also it is claimed that patriarchy is used too often by feminists to describe the oppression experienced by all women. Oppression of women is not universal and there is no on...