| What is the patriarchy? | the oppression and exploitation of women in a male dominated society |
| What has conventional political analysis failed to do? | to recognise sexism as important and, as a result, feminists have had to create their own theories. |
| What is the definition of patriarchy? | ‘rule by the father’ |
| What do many argue male dominance in families lies in the heart of? | the systematic process of the male dominance of women, as it reproduces this problem in all other walks of life- because the family shapes attitudes. |
| What are the two principles the patriarchy contain according to Millet? | ‘male shall dominate female’ and ‘elder males shall dominate younger’. |
| What do all feminists believe about the patriarchy? | The concept of patriarchy is, however, a broad one. Feminists agree that men have dominated women in all societies but to differing degrees. They argue that in western counties the position of women significantly improved during the twentieth century. However, in other parts of the world, there is still the cruel and violent domination of women by men. |
| What do liberal feminists believe about the patriarchy? | use the term to describe the unequal distribution of rights and entitlements in society. It represents the underrepresentation of women in senior positions and professions. it is rooted in the public world of education work and politics. therefore reform is the solution rather than revolution as it is a characteristic of society not fundamental. |
| What do radical feminists say about the patriarchy? | Radical feminists stress the importance of patriarchy, seeing it as a systematic and powerful tool of male domination that oppresses all women. It is pervasive and complex as the state itself is patriarchal. the progress that has been made is superficial as it doesn't address the systemic nature of sexism |
| What do socialist feminists say about the patriarchy? | Socialist feminists argue that patriarchy is focused on economic domination and inequality. Some socialist feminists reject the term arguing that inequality is a consequence of capitalism and the class system. |
| What are the six structures of the patriarchy proposed by Walby? | State, Household, Violence, Paid work, Sexuality and Culture |
| What is the structure of the state? | (women have been denied access to formal power/representation) |
| What is the structure of violence? | (women are much more likely to be victims of domestic abuse, which was not even a criminal offence in the past) |
| What is the structure of paid work? | (women are more likely to take jobs in subordinate positions to men, such as assistants, secretaries, nurses) |
| What is the structure of sexuality? | (women have been encouraged to suppress natural sexual desires) |
| What is the structure of the household? | (women have been discouraged from pursuing any occupations other than a domestic role) |
