Is western society Patriarchal
Is Western Society Patriarchal? Patriarchy is a concept for society at large and it rests on the sum of the structures and relations within a society. There are many definitions of a patriarchal society from Goldberg’s very simple. “A patriarchy is a society where most of those in a position of power are men” to various specific definitions of how a patriarchy is a society which dominates women in particular ways. To define a Patriarchy as a society which regards men as the superior sex necessitates looking for ways in which women are made subordinate and to find methods by which a society shows it values women less. Historically western society could easily be described as patriarchal. Legally inheritance was passed solely through the male line; women adopted their husband’s surnames and were treated as their husband’s dependants in both the eyes of the law and the eyes of society. ... Between obtaining the vote, the advent of consumerism and the sexual revolution the perception of women in modern society has been irrevocably changed. Yet, in order to determine whether or not contemporary western society is still patriarchal it is necessary to examine current social practices and institutions to decide if it promotes the belief that men are superior to women. ... Equal opportunities legislation that became prevalent in most western societies in the 1970s ensured that jobs that were once regarded as solely “one for the boys” became available, at least in theory, to women as well. ... The decline of traditional manufacturing industries has led many western economies to rely more and more on consumerism for stability and survival. ... Despite the introduction of equal opportunities legislation, which in itself is almost an admission to the existence of a patriarchal society, it is still common for women to be paid less than their male counterparts for exactly the same work. ... An obvious example of the lack of adequate representation of women in positions of power is the lack of women in the political structures of western society. ... It is still fair to say that, on average, women earn less than men, advance less than men and often hold jobs of inferior rank to men, all of which suggests that, as regards the workforce at least, western society is patriarchal as men are clearly valued as being superior in status to women. ... It is argued that women are a lot more dependant on the state as they rely on its support as mothers, they also depend on the state for many jobs, women are a lot more likely to be employed by the more progressive and lower paid state sector than by private firms, and they also rely on the state a lot more as citizens for protection due to the unequal balance of power within society.