Patriarchy

Patriarchy (from Greek: patria meaning father and arché meaning rule) is the anthropological term used to define the sociological condition where male members of a society tend to predominate in positions of power; with the more powerful the position, the more likely it is that a male will hold that position. The term patriarchy is also used in systems of ranking male leadership in certain hierarchical churches or religious bodies (see patriarch). Examples include the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox churches. Finally, the term patriarchy is used perjoratively to describe a seemingly immobile and sclerotic political order.

In anthropology

No matriarchal society has ever been known to exist. The majority of the top economic, political, industrial, financial, religious, and social positions are held by men and there are no known exceptions to this rule. Anthropologist Donald Brown has listed patriarchy to be a "human universal" (Brown 1991, p. 137), which includes charateristics as age gradation, personal hygiene aesthtics, food sharing, rape and other sociological aspects, implying that patriarchy is inate to the human condition. Noted Anthropologist Margaret Mead has observed that "all the claims so glibly made about societies ruled by women are nonsense. We have no reason to believe that they ever existed....Men have always been the leaders in public affairs and the final authorities at home."http://www.cortsoft.com/mop/Books3.htm

Related Topics:
Donald Brown - Margaret Mead

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Variations exist along the cultural spectrum as far as the visible manifestations of patriarchy. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, patriarchy is distinctly visible and European nations where the conduct is more subdued. In either culture, men still dominate public life. In many Marxist cultures, the impetus for egalitarian outcomes is manifested in efforts to depict gender equality. In China, the Communist government is supposedly governed by the Party Congress, by law composed of equal numbers of men and women. In reality, it is the male-only Politburo that governs and the Party Congress is powerless.

Related Topics:
Saudi Arabia - European - Marxist - Egalitarian - China - Communist - Party Congress - Politburo

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