Women Gender Study Writing Intensive Essay

September 10, 2018 WGS 101 Notes & Assignment Patriarchy

Johnson — “Patriarchy” “shared understandings and relationships that connect people to one another and something larger than themselves” (26) “a kind of society organized around certain kinds of relationships and ideas” that we participate in — we are shaped by patriarchy and we shape patriarchy through our participation (26)

Path of least resistance — normative patterns of action that uphold, reproduce & maintain oppressive systems (26)

Individualist explanations for patriarchy (or any other social system) ignores the ways that patriarchal behaviors are shaped by paths of least resistance (norms)

Paths of least resistance motivate adherence to norms — marginalized groups are motivated to change oppressive systems; groups who are ‘just holding on’ are motivated by a self-interested stake in the system and by fear of losing ground

Patriarchal cultures provide symbols and ideas that form the backdrop of what we regard as common sense — as that which is real/true, including:

• the belief in male & female sex as biological truths that shape gender identities and differences

• the belief in two (and only two) distinct categories of sex & gender (a sex/gender binary)

• the belief that the sex/gender binary is proof that heterosexuality is natural and normal while same-sex desire is not

Patriarchy as Norm & Structure To understand patriarchy as a system that shapes beliefs, values & norms, we have to identify the connections between beliefs, values & norms associated with patriarchal cultures shape social structures

The Relationship Between Systems & People The patriarchal system is something we all participate in; thus, we may engage in patriarchal practices and benefit from patriarchal power even if we don’t identify with patriarchal culture While patriarchy cannot be reduced to individuals; the patriarchal system cannot exist without the participation of individuals To understand patriarchy as a system, we have to identify our participation: what are the roles and positions we inhabit; the symbols we use to interact & share meaning and how do the values and beliefs we hold perpetrate patriarchal norms

Andrea Smith “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy”

Patriarchal oppression & white supremacy impact different groups of women in different ways: it is not a universally defined ‘shared oppression’

• When we theorize oppression as a shared/same experience, we erase the differences between marginalized groups

• Without an accounting of difference, our strategies for resistance may inadvertently (or knowingly) be complicit in the oppression of other marginalized groups

Smith introduces the “Three Pillars of White Supremacy” as a framework for understanding the distinct, but interrelated, rationales/logics as constitutive elements of white supremacy; these logics include:

1. Slavery/Capitalism 1. anchors capitalism; commodifies all bodies as labor to be sold to the capitalist in

exchange for wages 2. kept in place by racial hierarchies — a logic of domination over an ‘other’

2. Genocide/Colonialism 1. anchors colonialism; the colonial right to own dispossessed lands is solidified

through the continual disappearance of Native / indigenous bodies 2. the disappearance of indigenous peoples confirms the righteousness of colonial

possession

3. Orientalism/War 1. anchors war; defines an ‘other’ that threatens US empires 2. Orientalism was first defined by cultural theorist Edward Said as ‘the process of

the West defining itself as a superior civilization by construction and exotic and inferior Oriental ‘other’

The interrelated logics operate as relational systems of privilege and oppression — This means that one can simultaneously be both victim and oppressor As with Johnson’s definition of patriarchy as a system, paths of least resistance pattern behaviors, value and beliefs that may make us complicit in other systems of oppression Here, Smith references power as a seductive force — the potential for exercising power over a marginalized ‘other’ can be alluring — oppression and privilege are relational; by participating in practices of subordination, one gains a sense of dominance and superiority (even in this example, however, the perception of dominance exists alongside the continued subordination associated with white supremacy as an organizing framework)

Smith ends with a discussion of heteropatriarchy as the building block of US empire and of the nation-state as a form of governance Heteropatriarchy links home and nation in an overarching system of domination — the rule of patriarch in the home rests on a binary sex/gender system — this system defines masculinity as a dominating, patriarchal force

Assignment: Alan Johnson likens our participation in oppressive systems to our playing a game of Monopoly. For this assignment, I want you to replace the game of Monopoly with a game that we’ll call, “Patriarchy.” That is, think about how the roles, rules, norms, and expectations associated with playing Monopoly (as described by Johnson) would change if, instead, Patriarchy was the name of the game. Your task, in one paragraph (defined as 5 to 6 sentences or 100 to 200 words), is to describe the roles, rules, norms and expectations (or some combination of these elements of game play) associated with playing a game of Patriarchy. This assignment is meant to be a creative thought experiment, but it should reflect an understanding of patriarchy (and, if you’re up for an added challenge, heteropatriarchy) as a system.