General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Man-bashing." My favorite DU pule. [View all]Deep13
(39,154 posts)Feminism is a historical theory in addition to being a political and social movement. The theory states, in effect, that society considers masculine to be the default, generic human while feminine is constructed as a Saidian "other." Feminine was supposed to be weak, emotional, lustful, and dithering. Masculine, by contrast, was commanding, strong, rational, and decisive. In other words, part of its definition was that it wasn't feminine. Western historians described the entire non-white world in feminine terms as a rationale for colonialism. Once the androcentric historical narrative was deconstructed, women could be returned to their rightful places in historiy, however patriarchal a time and place might be.
Feminist scholars, drawing on Said and Foucault, explored identity and power relations. With masculine removed as the default gender, focus shifted from restoring the feminine to exploring the construction of gender identity in general. Unlike sex, which is physical, gender is a performative construct. One acts her or his gender by conforming to gender norms. Part of that is the idea of patriarchy. Under that system, men are in command of the nuclear family. Another man, an employer or landlord perhaps, is in command of that man, and by implication his family. Someone else commands that superior man. Ultimately the state operates as the father figure of society--perhaps embodied in a king--with each man and his family fixed in his proper place. The system is highly gendered, structured, and racialized. Since the patriarchy is modeled on the nuclear family, non-conforming gender models such as homosexual, interracial, etc. are a direct threat to the patriarchy.
So patriarchy does create an advantage for men in the public (non-domestic, not necessarily governmental) sphere, but an illusory one since the men of the ruling class command all in a patriarchy. Bringing it down, therefore, frees everyone, not just women.
By the way, the foregoing owes a lot of people footnotes. None of it is my original work.