The extent to which women play a role in upholding patriarchy is an area of debate. Many feminist scholars believe that women help to perpetuate patriarchal power structures, while many others do not. I think it’s true that women can play a role in upholding patriarchy, just as men can. But I don’t agree with the premise that, patriarchy is in place and women around the world are affected by it or that these women are somehow marginalized in various ways. Defining patriarchy as it typically is a form of social organization in which fathers or elder males are the heads of household and one or more wives.
The above-stated points can be said about the issue of women’s rights. It’s often portrayed that women are oppressed by the patriarchy and this is a mere fantasy to believe that we live in a world of equality. This essay aims to explore how patriarchy has been integrated into society and how this affects our everyday lives, providing argumentation that challenging men’s authority in the public sphere is important to achieve equality. There is a common perception that women are the ones who uphold the patriarchy.
In many parts of the world even today, women are expected to act in a certain way – they’re supposed to be submissive, soft-spoken, caring givers. We live in an image-driven world; it’s necessary to look beautiful and pleasant to be accepted by society. Some people even go as far as to say that men in today’s world can’t be able to break free from the so-called ‘oppressive patriarchal society and be seen as ‘equal’ or just be seen as a human being.
While this may sound like a societal problem, women are also affected in their ways by the male-dominant culture. This is because most of them are taught to be dependent on their male counterparts. Words like ‘delicate’, ‘fragile’, and ’emotional’ are associated with females which make them feel they need men for protection and thus, cooperate with the gender role given by our society. Women’s way of thinking puts them at a disadvantage as they feel they cannot prove themselves.
It all depends on how we define women. Not all women want to be a housewife or homemaker. It has always been associated with patriarchy that women are lesser than men, and that she upholds the patriarchy. I believe it all evolves from childhood. Gender division in pre-schools is where this plays out in society with boys playing out typical boy games like cricket while girls sit and talk, read magazines and eat chocolates, etc. In conclusion, it’s wrong to generalize women in whether they uphold or are departing from patriarchy. It’s because not all women are raised the same, and as men, not all women think the same. Additionally, there are still some minor changes that need to happen for both men and women to be on equal grounds.