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CHAPTER TWO PATRIARCHY
Introduction
The concept of patriarchy has been used by feminists to analyse the oppression of women and has been developed within feminist writings, not as a well-defined or unfussy concept, but rather as a combination of different meanings. It is, therefore, prudent to have a discussion on patriarchy in order to examine the views and writings of men about all aspects of women’s lives over the centuries. In this way, one can then evaluate Mary Daly’s condemnation of Christianity as irredeemably patriarchal.
Feminists have drawn extensively on historical evidence to prove that women were, and still are, living in a misogynist and androcentric world; women continue on their spiritual quest of liberating themselves from this state of patriarchy. Lerner (1986:5), in her groundbreaking work on patriarchy, states that nowhere in history is evidence to be found of an overthrow of power from female to male. Patriarchy was not an event, but developed over a period of nearly 2500 years at different times and places, from China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Mesoamerica, Africa, Europe and Malaysia (Lerner 1986:54), and was formed by both men and women (Lerner 1986:212). The creation of patriarchal concepts, according to Lerner (1993:3), was built into all mental constructs of societies and remained invisible over the centuries. These concepts projected men as whole and powerful and females as deviant, incomplete, physically mutilated and emotionally dependent. This understanding was founded on the fact that men and women were created differently, and therefore their biology, respective needs, capacities and functions are not the same (Lerner 1993:4). In a patriarchal society, men are viewed as naturally superior, stronger and more rational whereas women are viewed as naturally weaker, intellectually and rationally inferior, emotionally unstable and incapable of being involved in politics (Lerner 1993:4).
Therefore, men were designed by God to be dominant (Lerner 1993:4). Men, being more rational, explain and regulate the world and have control over a woman’s sexuality and her reproductive functions. Women sustain daily life and are responsible for the continuation of the human race and have no rights over men. Only men can act as a go-between with God and humans; women can only mediate with God through men (Lerner 1993:4).
The purpose of this chapter is to understand how patriarchy and its origins are perceived by feminists. This chapter will begin with definitions of patriarchy followed by a discussion of theories that exist around patriarchy from feminists’ perspectives. The focus will then shift to the rise of patriarchy from the pre-historic era, followed by a discussion of Plato and Aristotle and their influence on the Church fathers. Special reference will be made to Clement of Alexander, Origen, John Chrysostom (Greek fathers) as well as Tertullian, Jerome and Augustine (Latin fathers). The chapter will then move on to a discussion on patriarchy during the Middle Ages and the views on women held by Aquinas, Bonaventure and Scotus. This chapter will close with views on women by the reformation theologians Luther and Knox. The reason that these men are discussed is that feminists argue that all of them lacked a Christ-like concern towards women.
Since this is not an attempt to probe into the many centuries of Church history, and also to keep this chapter from becoming cumbersome, I have selected these men as having held views on women that are representative of their era.
Defining patriarchy
The word patriarchy derives from the Greek words —patēr (πατήρ, father) and archē (αρχή, rule) (William 1994:209), and literally means the rule of the father in a male-dominated family (Bhasin 1993:3). Patriarchy is a system in which women experience discrimination, subordination, violence, exploitation and oppression by men (Bhasin 1993:3) In a patriarchal society, women are treated as inferior in all aspects of their lives; men control women’s reproductive power, their sexuality, their mobility and even their economic resources (Bhasin 1993:6-9). Patriarchy is defined as the ‘rule of the father’ in a male-dominated family and as a social and ideological construct which considers men, as patriarchs, to be intrinsically superior to women. Ray (2011:1) and Walby (1989:214) define patriarchy as a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. Although there are many patriarchal forms and practices, patriarchy is not a universal notion because the different forms of patriarchy depend upon the interaction of patriarchal structures in different times and places (Walby 1989:228). Walby (1989:220) identifies six structures of patriarchy and states that these are defined in terms of the social relationship in each structure. They are: a patriarchal mode of production in which women’s labour is expropriated by their husbands; patriarchal relations within waged labour; the patriarchal state; male violence; patriarchal relations in sexuality and patriarchal culture.
Walby also makes a distinction between public and private patriarchy. Private patriarchy excludes women from the realm of social life where a patriarch appropriates the services of the individual woman in the private sphere of the home. Public patriarchy subordinates women in all areas of social life and the appropriation of women is more collective than individual (Walby 1989:228).
In popular discussions, the concept of patriarchy is referred to as the ‘rule of men over women’ and more broadly, it refers to the web of economic, political, social and religious regulations that have enforced the domination of women by men throughout the ages (Jones 2000:77). Patriarchy, as an oppressive force, has a long history that stretches across national and cultural boundaries and is a system that regulates women by means of male dominance (Maseno & Kilonzo 2011:45). Laurien (2004:1) defines patriarchy in its narrowest sense as a social system controlled by men and as an inheritance which is passed on from father to son. Family members are dependent on, and submissive to, the male head of the household. In its broader sense, patriarchy is a system in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women and which extends beyond the household to society in general.
It was with Kate Millett’s book Sexual Politics, 1969, that the concept of patriarchy became popularised, especially amongst American feminists (Mirkin 1984:42). Millet states:
our society, like all other historical civilizations, is a patriarchy. The fact is evident at once if one recalls that the military, technology, universities, science, political office, and finance – in short, every avenue of power … including the coercive force of the police, is entirely in male hands (Millet 1968:25).
Traditionally, patriarchy granted the father nearly total ownership over wife or wives and children, including powers of physical abuse and often even those of murder and sale (Millet 1968:33).
Patriarchy as a rulership is linked to procreation in a manner that misconstrues and exaggerates the role of the father and regulates women’s reproductive roles (Barnett 1997:127). Johnson (2005:5) describes patriarchy as a kind of society. A society consists of people, both male and female, and therefore patriarchy does not refer to any other man or collection of men but a society wherein both sexes participate. A society becomes patriarchal when males receive privileges, where males dominate, where males are identified as the society and where the society is male centered (Johnson 2005:5). Patriarchy dominates where positions of authority are claimed by men in all spheres of society including the economy, the law, religion, education, military and domestic (Johnson 2005:9). A society where cultural ideas of what is good, desirable, preferable or normal are identified with males is thus patriarchal (Johnson 2005:6). Patriarchy becomes male centered (Johnson 2005:10) when focus is placed on men and their actions and where women are historically excluded from state, church, university and other professions (Johnson 2005:16).
I conclude this section with the definition of patriarchy in the words of the post-feminist Mary Daly (2006:53):
society manufactured and controlled by males: FATHERLAND; society in which every legitimated institution is entirely in the hands of males and a few selected henchwomen; society characterized by oppression, repression, depression, narcissism, cruelty, racism, classism, ageism, [speciesism,] objectification, sadomasochism, necrophilia; joyless society, ruled by Godfather, Son, and Company; society fixated on proliferation, propagation, procreation, and bent on the destruction of all Life 2: the prevailing religion of the entire planet, whose essential message is necrophilia.
It is important to take note of some theories of patriarchy in order to understand the complexity of the concept. I therefore turn to an explication of approaches in this regard.
Theoretical approaches in the understanding of patriarchy
Generally, feminists convey a message and take as their vantage point the view that women have been historically oppressed and are still so today. There is not a single explanation for when, how and why patriarchy originated. Many different theories exist about patriarchy and they mean different things to different theorists2. The purpose of this section is not to study the literature on all the theories but, to highlight some theoretical assumptions and arguments of patriarchy. Feminist theorists have, over the years, tried to understand the origins of patriarchy and have asked wide-ranging questions such as: when and why did patriarchy originate? Was there a time when a matriarchal society existed in which women dominated men? Were the sexes ever equal in society? When and how were gender roles assigned and when did women’s subordination began? The importance of these very questions ties in with the fact that their answers provide directives for addressing the unacceptable social phenomenon of patriarchy in order to understand its history so that society can be created with equal rights for both men and women.
When feminists address questions of women’s subordination and analyse particular forms of patriarchy, (Beechey 1979:66) they use patriarchy as a concept. Thus, a theory of patriarchy is an attempt to penetrate particular experiences and manifestations of women’s oppression in order to formulate a coherent theory of subordination (Beechey 1979:66).
To provide a complete list of feminist theorists is not possible but we must acknowledge the works of well-known and important feminist theorists who have made significant contributions to feminist theory on the oppression of women over the years.
Important theorists during pre-19th century were Christine de Pizan in Italy (1365-1430), Olympe de Gouges in France (1748-1797) and Mary Wollstonecraft in Britain (1759-1797).
During the 19th century, the Americans Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), Susan Anthony (1820-1906), and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) made valuable contributions to feminist theory.
Simone de Beauvoir in France (1908-1986); Betty Friedan in America (1921-2006), and Virginia Woolf in Britain (1882-1941) contributed to feminist theories during the early-mid 20th century. Susan Brownmiller in America (1935-), Mary Daly in America (1928-2010), Shulamith Firestone, Canadian-born American (1945-2012), Marilyn French in America (1929-2009); Lucy Irigaray in Belgium (1930-), Julia Kristeva in France (1941-), Kate Millett in America (1934-), and Sheila Rowbotham in Britain (1943-) were among those who contributed to feminist theory during the 1960s and 1970s.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: THE FOCAL POINT OF THE THESIS
1.1 Orientation
1.2 Approach and relevance
1.3 Research interest
1.4 Research aims
1.5 Qualitative research
1.6 The way forward
CHAPTER TWO: PATRIARCHY
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Defining patriarchy
2.3 Theoretical approaches in the understanding of patriarchy
2.4 The rise of patriarchy
2.5 The influence of Plato and Aristotle
2.6 The Church fathers and perpetuation of misogyny
2.7 Patriarchy during Medieval
2.8. Patriarchy and the Reformation Theologians
2.9. Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE: FEMINISM
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The history of feminism
3.3 Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR: MARY DALY
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Biographical Information
4.3 Daly’s use of language
4.4 Daly’s theological and philosophical development
4.5 Daly’s case against the church
4.6 Christian and Postchristian Myth
4.7 Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE: PATRIARCHY, FEMINISM, AND MARY DALY: A CRITICAL EVALUATION
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Daly’s Quadripartite Theological and Philosophical Paradigm
5.3 Evaluation of Daly’s Quadripartite Theological and Philosophical Paradigm
5.4 The case of Mary Daly
5.5 Reflection and Conclusion
Bibliography
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