I know y’all don’t like the word patriarchy but I want to try to reframe the way it is commonly viewed in this sub. Patriarchal culture in my opinion can most closely be related to a child/parent relationship. Women are treated similarly to children, and men to parents, and their are social benefits and downsides to both roles.
I want to focus on the ways this relationship negatively impacts men. Being cast in a parental role as a child, you are told not to cry and not to express your feelings, to bottle everything up and “be a man”. I cannot imagine how immensely damaging this is, or the impact it has on healthy emotional and social development.
This role is also why (until recently legally, but still socially imposed) men were the only ones sent to war, the only ones in dangerous labor jobs, the ones with the weight of provider on their shoulders. Because the perception of women as children means they are too innocent and vulnerable to undertake these roles.
It’s why when a man is raped by a woman or a male student is taken advantage of by a female teacher it is rarely taken seriously or punished. Or when a woman abuses her male partner.
I personally think the cons of patriarchal social systems do more harm than good. I also believe that the root of these systems in our history has far more to do with the physical power imbalance between men and women than the many inherent and polarizing traits separating the genders that are commonly believed on this sub.
No, men and women are not the exact same. We have different cocktails of hormones, creating different strengths and weaknesses. But i would argue that most of the differences this sub points to as being inherent qualities of the genders are 90% socialized and boil down to the child/parent roles of patriarchy.
My ending point is that patriarchy is a double edged sword that hurts all of us. I see men and women on this sub holding tightly to the parts that benefit them and hating the parts that don’t, I think both genders would benefit most from giving up both.
I know y’all don’t like the word patriarchy but I want to try to reframe the way it is commonly viewed in this sub. Patriarchal culture in my opinion can most closely be related to a child/parent relationship. Women are treated similarly to children, and men to parents, and their are social benefits and downsides to both roles.I want to focus on the ways this relationship negatively impacts men. Being cast in a parental role as a child, you are told not to cry and not to express your feelings, to bottle everything up and “be a man”. I cannot imagine how immensely damaging this is, or the impact it has on healthy emotional and social development.This role is also why (until recently legally, but still socially imposed) men were the only ones sent to war, the only ones in dangerous labor jobs, the ones with the weight of provider on their shoulders. Because the perception of women as children means they are too innocent and vulnerable to undertake these roles.It’s why when a man is raped by a woman or a male student is taken advantage of by a female teacher it is rarely taken seriously or punished. Or when a woman abuses her male partner.I personally think the cons of patriarchal social systems do more harm than good. I also believe that the root of these systems in our history has far more to do with the physical power imbalance between men and women than the many inherent and polarizing traits separating the genders that are commonly believed on this sub.No, men and women are not the exact same. We have different cocktails of hormones, creating different strengths and weaknesses. But i would argue that most of the differences this sub points to as being inherent qualities of the genders are 90% socialized and boil down to the child/parent roles of patriarchy.My ending point is that patriarchy is a double edged sword that hurts all of us. I see men and women on this sub holding tightly to the parts that benefit them and hating the parts that don’t, I think both genders would benefit most from giving up both. https://ift.tt/KMwdm4615 https://ift.tt/Gxt8gWmeL
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