Matriarchy and Patriarchy in Today's World

Traditionally, men are viewed as strong, dominant and logical, while women are regarded as the weak sex, thus being dependent on the males to make decisions and to protect them as well as their children. These roles go far back in time when males in fact had to protect their families from other tribes, wild animals etc. Even today the same values are applied both in real life and in media. In general a woman is depicted as wife, mother or a sex object. (Sex, Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation”, Year unknown).

Historically, men have held every position of power and status in known societies, civilized or otherwise. Men have been the fore-runners, the providers and the respected warriors of every age since the dawn of recorded time. These cultures did not confuse their identities or cultural roles in regards to gender; men were expected to win fame and fortune for themselves and their families, tribes or clans while women were expected to support their men in domesticity and child-rearing. Men knew what was expected of them since birth as they were often surrounded by masculine role-models in their own societies. However, modern masculinity has become something else entirely. Too much has been written about these time periods to rehash any of the

Gender inequality can be explained using the conflict theory which is a common agreement that men have been dominant throughout many societies for many years (Joan Acker, 1989). It is believed that women are weak, while men are strong. Most women have been enslaved by men throughout

Throughout history the role of women in Asia has changed drastically. In many areas, such as China, women were not treated socially, politically, economically, or culturally equal. China was a patriarchal society meaning that men had more power than women; this was mainly to do their Confucian beliefs. Politically, the literacy rates were much higher in males than in females; due to the fact that women were not allowed to receive an education. Additionally, a common tradition practiced by wealthy females was footbinding. Footbinding limited the physical abilities of women, ultimately making them dependent on males. Furthermore, economically, women could not own or inherit property as men could. Nonetheless, China was not the only Asian country where women were treated differently. The

Women’s lives in China have changed dramatically throughout reforms in the Qing Dynasty, the Nationalist period, the Chinese Civil War, etc. In the historically male-dominated society, there still is not the gender equality that women have been hoping for. “Millions upon millions of women are missing. They are not lost, but dead: victims of violence, discrimination, and neglect” (Baute). Why should one gender be valued more over the other? Why should one gender be viewed as more important? Females in countries like China are discriminated against, mistreated, and are valued less since many women and girls are not allowed to get an education, the violence/abuse that they have to go through, and because the one-child policy rule that is placed in countries like China.

As civilizations grew and morphed into the international superpowers of today, they also gave rise to vast seas of inequalities. Inequalities between those of different social rankings, inequalities in the workplace, and, most importantly, inequalities between genders were just a few of the looming stratifications accompanying the rise of society. However, these inequalities were expressed differently by different peoples and societies. Although patriarchies were the social norm of the time, the patriarchies of Han Dynasty China, Tang Dynasty China, and Song Dynasty China each had small nuances that made their patriarchies positively peculiar. These nuances include, but are not limited to the level of social and economic freedom afforded to women, the powers women held, and the level of brutality women experienced.

In Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s, “The Rights of Women”, she introduces the idea of how developed countries, like England, believe that both men and women receive equal treatment, yet it’s evident that this is not true. Thinking back to any point in time one can come up with a multitude of ways women’s rights differ from men’s. For instance, in many cultures women exist only as the child bearers, homemakers, and wives/servants of their husbands, nothing more. Why? Because many men rationalize their ideas about women by enlisting physical and mental explanations as to why women are less superior than men. The idea that men hold more intelligence and strength, while women assert a more passive and caring nature, accounts for much of this inequality. Khan paints a picture of this inequality proclaiming, “A women is like the left hand and a man the right hand.” Essentially, women are less valuable than men, they are only to do simple tasks and help the man with the things he cannot find the time to do. This, in turn, creates a hierarchy of sex with men always inhabiting the top rung of the hierarchy ladder.

Nonetheless, within the Hindu religion, women’s roles have evolved over time and women are going against the social norm of their tradition and their way of life in hopes of being treated in the same manner that Sikh women are within Sikhism (Desai, et al., 1995). Hindu women’s traditional roles in the household in India have changed over the past century. The influence of Western scholars as well as Sikhism views on women has brought change to the overall status and role of women in Hinduism so that Hindu women can be recognized in the same way that Sikhism women are. Western scholars who have studied Hinduism have written many books and articles on the sacred scriptures including reviews on the Vedas (hymns and ritual texts) and other religious scriptures that at one point were restricted from Hindu women.

Women and men are viewed differently since the beginning of time. The men were to be said the “head” of the house; they worked outside the house and brought bread to his family; while the women stayed inside their homes and did their chores and raised the children. The men had the privileges of studying and voting, but the women had to work hard to earn those privileges. Since beginning of time, woman was seen as the “weak link”, someone who did not have power over men, lead, think for herself or speak up. Nowadays, that has changed. Women are successful in whatever they do, they lead, they work, they vote; yet they still are viewed differently than men.

The oppression of women has been brought into light in the recent years but it was the norm in many societies in early history especially in premodern east Asia. During that time, the roles of men and women in society were determined by great scholars that had the power to get their voice to be heard and set general rules in society. In China, scholars like Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi had great impact on the way people divided the roles between men and women. The overall oppression of women in premodern east Asia can be seen through quotes from great scholars about how women should be obedient to men, should not make important decisions in their families, and are not spoken of equally to men in society.

Traditional views of women have existed since the first known civilizations. Typical gender roles would include women taking care of the children, cleaning the house, preparing meals, and taking care of her husband; all while the husband works and supplies his family with what they need. Although there is nothing wrong with these traditional gender roles, times have changed and a lot of women are expanding against societal norms and doing more with their life than just the housekeeper. Women are achieving higher education, obtaining stable careers and financial stability for themselves. They are also choosing to not have children, or they will still return to work after their maternity leave. This era of revolution for women is taking the world

Being expected of different social roles and offered different responsibilities, males had to be dominance at most time. Such phenomenon could be found more commonly in Asian culture as well. In some Asian countries it would be a huge shame for males if they could not make enough money to raise the entire family and fulfill the wives’ expenses. Females choose to live as housewives and rely on the males thus empower the males to be dominance.

Society today places many ideals when it comes to proper behaviours regarding gender roles. These are considered societal norms that are widely debated and controversial. Society has created a norm, which encompasses specific expectations and rules that change the daily lives of men and women, giving them specific tasks and behaviours to abide by. These standards are known as gender roles, which are defined as distinguishing actions, thoughts, and feelings of males and females. Gender roles are said to be a result of nature, which is a natural process, every male or female is to follow. On the other hand it can be a result of nurture, which changes ones way of thinking and adapting their lifestyle to fit their environment. Either way gender roles are a part of someone’s life from the moment of their birth, as they develop, and long after that, this proves that gender roles are influential to a person’s life and development. This essay examines how media such as music, family life, and different parenting styles encompass gender roles and teaches behaviours regarding them. Therefore, gender roles define males and females are a result of nurture and not nature.

The purpose of this paper is to explore patriarchal values that reinforce violence towards women in intimate partner relationships. This paper argues that patriarchy and the social construction of masculinity reproduce male violence against women. The following sub-issues that that will be discussed are patriarchy, capitalism, the religion of Islam, and the construction of masculinity and femininity. All the sub-issues encompass patriarchy values which allows inmate partner violence.

Today we live in a world that continually stresses to us that, "All men are created equal." While this sounds great at face value, further inspection tells us that this is far from realistic and sadly may never be. One can examine any aspect of society whether it be race, religion, language, level of education, sexual orientation or economic status and notice that there are numerous characteristics and factors of identity that enable others to treat others differently. This truth may not be pleasant or make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside, however it is our society’s reality, however dismal it may be. Even if the statement above as to the equality of all men were true, how about women? Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards