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Authoritative Patriarchy
Authoritative Patriarchy
Name
Institution
Authoritative Patriarchy
The State of Patriarchy Today
Patriarchy according to Bell Hooks is a socio-political system that insists men are inherently dominant and have power over everything and everyone especially females (Hooks, 2000). Under this system, men have the right to dominate and control the weak and preserve that dominance (Hassel, Reddinger, & Van Slooten, 2011). This conversation takes a different turn on patriarchy and instead of discussing it traditionally, the paper focuses on the changing spectrum and the threat to this old system.
Feminists have started gaining more power and influence that it is making the dominant males uncomfortable. To illustrate, Greta Thunberg the 16-year-old climate activist with her participation in many climate protests, her address in the United Nations and her influence in many other places generated furious responses from powerful men especially politicians and media personalities (Kramp, 2019). Andrew Bolt an Australian pundit called Thunberg a freakishly influential and deeply troubled girl, Arron Banks a notable figure in the politics of the United Kingdom sent a tweet that appeared to threaten Thunberg saying “freaking yacht accidents do happen in August” in response to the activist’s zero-carbon voyage across the Atlantic (Kramp, 2019). U.S. President trouble also contributed to the issue with sarcasm after the girl made a public statement admonishing world leaders for doing nothing on global warming. In his tweet, Trump said “She seems like a very happy girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” (Kramp, 2019).
These comments were clear evidence of modern men attacking women for having a voice and expressing their interests with boldness in a patriarchal society. In previous generations, men holding positions of power would not have felt the need to use such assaultive remarks. Rather, they would have used strategy to downplay the relevance of an underage braided woman, escorted her away or belittled her influence. But these acts by powerful men suggest that patriarchy may be in transition.
When patriarchy is fully functional, men do not need to justify their right to dominate, they are naturally dominating. When the patriarchy is in perfect form, men do not need to insult women, rather, women and the weak section of society consent to its authoritative protection. But when the system is struggling, men are forced to use different tactics to reclaim their presumed privilege. The recent struggles of patriarchy have emanated from women’s activism and the proliferation of women in Congress. Female leaders in Congress have raised hostility from men and ironically from a section of women against women uncovering its desperate state.
The manifestation of Patriarchal Values
Although the patriarchal system appears shaking and has started the journey to extinction, there are still classic ways in which patriarchy manifests today. The mass media is a significant culprit as it accentuates patriarchal values and thoughts. The media intensifies patricidal ideas through negative coverage of sexual violence such as focusing on how a verdict would impact on the perpetrators rather than the victim like in the famous commentary of the Steubenville rape case- which focused on the impact action would have on the young athletes rather than how the victims life was altered (Serres, 2014). The media is also notorious for promoting gender duplexes. Promoting the continuous objectification of women and discussion on their appearances and body image is another manifestation of a patriarchal system in the media.
In the workforce, men hold more and top leadership positions than women, mostly because they exhibit individual-based leadership and showcase the very traditional male features including being outspoken and rational. In addition, women often do not receive the same compensation as men for the same amount of work and are stuck at lower ranks for long among other prejudices.
Sexual violence is also another huge indicator of a patriarchal system where men make up 99 percent of the people who rape. According to Kokopeli and Lakey (1984), patriarchy gives men the idea that their need for affection and respect can only be fulfilled by expressing masculinity, becoming powerful and violent in the end. This idea also contributes to the huge number of men who stand by and do little to nothing to prevent sexual violence.
Needed Change
Certain changes need to be pursued in order to deal with authoritative patriarchy and should center on challenging the institutions that appear to contribute to it. The conservatives need to change their war on women. Many conservative politicians tend to assert that their policies are not meant to attack women but they have a record in terms of legislation that limits the rights of women. For decades, the conservative party has been fueling this war against women and in recent times it has been ramped up at the state-level especially (Crawley, 2019). These regressive policies need to be faced with ultimate disapproval and the implications of this war properly highlighted.
The other change is holding the media accountable for any activities that appear to enhance patriarchy. This may include male-dominated journalism/movies or sending the blame in the direction of a victim in cases involving sexual violence. The media should be stopped from promoting dominant culture and instead redirected to reflect its views in all types of backgrounds and relationships. In general, emphasizing accountability means that, compelling victims to either avoid or accommodate male aggression is not right and men should be held accountable. The objective should be enabling the interaction between men and women with respect and recognition of mutual humanity.
Another thing that needs to change is society’s modern gender paradigms. Conventional gender paradigms need to be out to a test and thoroughly questioned. Many people especially feminists understand that modern gender paradigms put women at a significant disadvantage. These paradigms are made up of the idea that man is inherently aggressive while females are innately passive. As a matter of fact, this argument has no gender basis. These gender stereotypes inspire women to tolerate males that are violent and respond to “aggressive” women as abnormal. It is time for society to embrace the full range of individuality. The system should change from one that encourages men to express aggression and hold back emotion to one where all sexes are free to express themselves and their feelings and develop an attitude of gentleness and sensitivity to the feelings of fellow men and women.
Additional change that should be adopted to bring down a patriarchal system is challenging the perception of an ideal nuclear family. The last few years have seen a rise in nontraditional family settings although the nuclear family still remains the ideal standard. The problem with this is that the model of the nuclear family is fundamentally patriarchal. The male is placed at the helm and given responsibilities such as the breadwinner, the leader, and the decision-maker. The rest of the members are reduced to subordinates. Children from these settings grow up to internalize sexist ideas of men as natural leaders. In most cases, these children never gain the poise to decide the structure and substance of their lives in the absence of a leader or partner.
Alternative family models enable people to think about gender in new, modern ways. This supports movement beyond destructive power binaries in which an individual has authority at the expense of others in a manner that reduces them to submission.
The Audience
The fight against patriarchy is about erasing the barriers for every individual regardless of gender. It also has a connection to works against white supremacy, sizeism, homophobia and discrimination against any minority group. The fight against patriarchy begins with every individual to end the patriarchal domination of men, women, boys, and girls. The contribution of every citizen means creating a society where love can exist because in one that there is coercion and domination it is not possible. The contribution of men is also as important not only for society but for themselves. Men cannot be able to love themselves or experience genuine love in a culture that is patriarchal because rules of submission are not desirable. If men could embrace feminist thinking and practice which creates emphasis on the significance of common growth and self-actualization in all affiliations, their emotional welfare will be without doubt enhanced. According to Hooks (2000), “A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving.” Grassroots anti-capitalism feminism is significant to the transformation from an oppressive system, either as a conceptual-ideological-political framework or a communal praxis and crusade.
The quest to bring down the patriarchy and its oppressive structures, as well as societies, is central to dealing with the challenges climate change, biodiversity, inadequacy and among others which are deeply rooted and interconnected across societies and environments (Bhatnagar, & Hasan, 2018). Socialists should take the initiative to demand social change that will see the creation of societies based on the sovereignty of the people and the acceptance of their social, environmental, sexual and gender justice. These initiatives include demanding freedom from patriarchal systems and any form of oppression that either take advantage of women or puts little to no value on them as equals.
Women have the greatest role in this because it is obvious that the battle is central to their claim. Through empowerment movements, federations and lobby groups, women should create a holistic political vision of justice and alteration to the system. These groups should increase efforts in support of women in leadership and protagonists such as Thunberg, the little girl with a huge voice. Having female politicians or group members that share the same vision means the chance to dismantle patriarchy from the inside.
Women should not confuse nonparticipation with activism. Phrases like dismantling patriarchy imply that actively becoming part of the action against the oppressive authoritarian structure. Those women that feel they have done enough by not conforming to patriarchal values are absolutely wrong. Although boycotting sexist films and such kind of passive action is a step in the desired direction, it is not an effective way of addressing the sexist problem. Activism on the other will effect action against such an oppressive value.
References
Bhatnagar, D., & Hasan, R. S. (2018, October 31). Dismantle patriarchy for system change. Retrieved from https://www.foei.org/news/system-change-dismantle-patriarchy
Crawley, J. (2019, April 4). Six Ways To Smash The Patriarchy. Retrieved from https://yourdream.liveyourdream.org/2017/06/six-ways-to-smash-the-patriarchy/
Hassel, H., Reddinger, A., & Van Slooten, J. (2011). Surfacing the Structures of Patriarchy: Teaching and Learning Threshold Concepts in Women’s Studies. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 5(2), n2.
Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Pluto Press.
Kokopeli, B., & Lakey, G. (1984). Leadership for change: Toward a feminist model. New Society Pub.
Kramp, M. (2019, November 14). The Patriarchy Is Getting Mean ? and There’s a Whiff of Desperation. Retrieved from https://www.ozy.com/news-and-politics/the-patriarchy-is-getting-mean-and-theres-a-whiff-of-desperation/241371/
Serres, D. (2014, January 9). Why Patriarchy Persists (and How We Can Change It). Retrieved from https://organizingchange.org/patriarchy-persists-can-change/
A commodity is any basic good with a role of an input in the economic production of goods or services
Question 1
A commodity is any basic good with a role of an input in the economic production of goods or services. It is also any physical good that has the ability to be sold or bought on a commodity market. That is to say that anything used in the manufacturing process to become an everyday good is a commodity. Commodities are basic goods used in commerce. They are interchangeable with other goods. Basic commodities available today include coffee beans, copper, gold, wheat, and crude oil. Technological advances have ushered in a new era that has created new types of commodities in the market, including bandwidth and cell phone minutes. More recently, the definition of a commodity has expanded to include foreign indexes and currency and other financial products. When traded in an exchange, a commodity must meet specific minimum standards, the basis grade.
Karl Marx defined the value of a commodity to include two contradictory elements: exchange value and use value. Use value is used to mean the utility of a commodity in its role of satisfying needs or wants according to its material properties. Therefore, use value is linked to the physical attributes of a commodity, including all material uses that are put on the object and the human needs fulfilled. Exchange value, on the other hand, is the worth of a commodity usually expressed in terms of a price. Exchange value is the amount of services or goods that are obtained in a market in exchange of other particular commodities. It can be equated to the price of a good bought and sold in the market. For example, a given quantity of rice can be exchange for a dozen of eggs, giving the value of that quantity of rice as equal to a dozen of eggs. This creates a definition of exchange value in terms of quantitative relation as a proportion that the value in use is exchanged for that of another. Exchange value is a comparison of use value, where users attach a certain value to a commodity and provide comparative aspects of how it should be exchanged in the market. Usually, money replaces the need to use the use value of a commodity against the other by equating value to quantity and other elements such as time and place. For example, commodities like air and water have high use value but are available on large scale thus creating a low exchange value.
Question 5
Mechanization is the introduction of automated devices such as machines into activities, places, and processes. Mechanization has become a phenomenon of the 21st century as more organization turn to machines and automated devices in an effort to create efficiency through automated routines. The use of robots and other artificial intelligence gadgets has become common practice in the employment scene today. For example, big corporations such as Toyota and IBM or Google are employing mechanization through use of AI and robots to replace human labor and improve on the efficiency of work. As these robots and other forms of mechanization become commonplace, it is expected that the effects on employment levels and employment practices will be largely negative. Some of the already notable effects of mechanization in advanced industrial societies include loss of jobs, high costs of installation and maintenance for organizations, reduced flexibility, higher expectations on human labour to match the efficiency of robots, reduced opportunities, and insecurity and anxiety regarding the future.
While mechanization has had positive effects on employment levels and practices in the advanced industrial societies, it has also led to several effects on the labour market. First, it has largely displaced employees performing certain jobs such as performance tests on cars, safety checks in factories, and packaging in large organizations. The main effect here is that it has directly led to reduced employment opportunities and reduced wages for employees who have historically relied on these positions now mechanized. While other sectors have also expanded to soak up this loss, it is also likely that their respective industries will, in the short term, employ mechanization techniques leading to the same negative effects.
Other negative effects include employment practices that are unfair such as expecting the same level of output from human labor compared to robots. It is also possible that work practices have changed to include reduced flexibility for employees. Robotic workforce occupies a significant portion of the labor market in the industrialized world, meaning that workers are now forced to specialize and work within their main areas of strength. Job specialization often leads to reduced flexibility in terms of what a worker is able to achieve.
Overall, mechanization has had its fair share of benefits. For example, it improves safety, increases the speed of operations, has remarkable consistency, often yields perfection, and improves productivity. However, it also means that very soon people in various mechanized industries will go out of work. It is important that the effects of robots and other mechanized workforces be checked to ensure that the effect on human labour is not as severe as expected.
A co-culture is a group in the society that has little or no say in contributing to the development of a dominant structure o
Subject
Students Name
Institution of Affiliation
Date
A co-culture is a group in the society that has little or no say in contributing to the development of a dominant structure of the society to which they live. Some of the co-cultural groups include the homeless, homosexuals, ethnic groups, the disabled as well as the religious minorities (Ting-Toomey & Dorjee, 2018). Studying co-cultures is significant in various ways. The identification and explication of the communication practices of the co-cultural groups are significant and valuable in understanding how the individuals who are marginalized in a dominant society tend to communicate with the people in the same society but have direct access to the institutional power, the influencers of the dominant society. Learning about the co-cultures also enables the learner to understand how the minorities survive under the dominant majorities in society.
Various potential communication barriers exist between a co-culture and the dominant culture. Language is the key barrier as the co-culture may not be of the same language with the dominant culture, and therefore, the two groups cannot communicate effectively. Different cultures have different languages. The only viable mode of communication is through the use of non-verbal means as the words may not be easily understood. The use of non-verbal communication may as well not work as expected as it is subject to misinterpretation.
Stereotyping and prejudices play a major role in hindering communication between cultures. Members of the dominant cultures have negative perceptions regarding the co-culture associating them with bad things merely because they might have heard from someone else. Dominant cultures only believe what members of their culture says, characterizing the co-culture as deceptive and harmful. The negative stereotyping creates prejudices among the co-culture, and this provokes judgmental attitudes. When stereotyping and prejudices are incorporated, it becomes had for the two cultures to come to terms due to judgmental attitudes.
Ethnocentrism is another barrier to communication between co-cultures and dominant cultures. Mostly, the two cultures don’t have a lot of similarities, and therefore each culture perceives the other as being different from them, which is bad. With the dissimilar concept in mind, it is difficult to get members of the two cultures together as they have no common agenda. The dissimilarity can be reflected in behavior and religion where every person in the respective groups feel different from those that belong to the other.
A co-culture of homelessness implies that the people who are in that culture are homeless and they share similar beliefs, norms, values, and behaviors. They also share similar structures, and they belong to the same economic class and thus have a similar environment. According to Walsh et. al. (2016), the homeless do not converse freely with other people, and they feel that they don’t belong to the same social class with most of the interested parties who want to question them and due to this they inhibit a stereotyping effect that the interested parties want to take advantage of their situation. They, therefore, refuse to open up and only freely talk with the other homeless people whom they are in the same culture.
The homeless feel insecure while communicating with people from the dominant culture and this may lead to a lack of disclosure of information. Another reason why the homeless as a co-culture refuse to open up for the dominant culture is the fear of being judged wrongly. Most of them do not live in the streets because they wanted to, but because certain circumstances that led to their eviction from their homes. According to a study by Crane (1998), some of the homeless people were evicted from their homes as they were unable to pay for their mortgage or are mentally ill. Others had their homes taken by their relatives when their parents died, and as children they had no one to take care of them, eventually ending up to the streets.
References
Crane, M. (1998). The associations between mental illness and homelessness among older people: an exploratory study. Aging & Mental Health, 2(3), 171-180.
Ting-Toomey, S., & Dorjee, T. (2018). Communicating across cultures. Guilford Publications.
Walsh, C. A., Lorenzetti, L., St-Denis, N., Murwisi, P., & Lewis, T. (2016). Community Voices: Insights on social and human services from people with lived experiences of homelessness. Review of Social Sciences, 1(2), 27-41.