Gerda Lerner (THE CREATION OF PATRIARCHY) PDF

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Gerda Lerner (THE CREATION OF PATRIARCHY).
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Q. Examine Gerda Lerner’s Claim that Women are subjected to Patriarchal Structures throughout their lives. Does she offer a solution to exit such structures. Comment

Women’s History is the primary tool for women’s emancipation. -Gerda Lerner The Creation of Patriarchy is a nonfiction book written by Gerda Lerner as an explanation for the origins of misogyny in ancient Mesopotamia and the following Western societies. She traces the "images, metaphors, [and] myths" that lead to patriarchal concepts' existence in Western society. She believes that the creation of patriarchy in the ancient Near East was a 2500-year period from nearly 3100 BC to 600 BC rather than a single event . In the text, Lerner argues that women have historically played a large role in the systemic subjugation of women, whether for self-preservation, to receive the benefits of class and more modernly "race", or for other reasons. She claims that it is likely that women accepted sex-segregated tasks in their societies long before it led to sex-based oppression. Lerner also argues that the widespread existence of misogyny in societies is not due to biological or psychological differences between males and females, but rather that it has historical explanations. She states that since patriarchy "has a beginning in history", it "can be ended by historical process" Introduction Patriarchy is the prime obstacle to women’s advancement and development. Despite differences in levels of domination the broad principles remain the same, i.e., men are in control. The nature of this control may differ. So, it is necessary to understand the system, which keeps women dominated and subordinate, and to unravel its workings in order to work for women’s development in a systematic way. In the modern world where women go ahead by their merit, patriarchy there creates obstacles for women to go forward in society. Because patriarchal institutions and social relations are responsible for the inferior or secondary status of women. Patriarchal society gives absolute priority to men and to some extent limits women’s human rights also. Patriarchy refers to the male domination both in public and private spheres. In this way, feminists use the term ‘patriarchy’ to describe the power relationship between men and women as well as to find out the root cause of women’s subordination.

According to Lerner, Patriarchy, in its wider definition, means the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in the family and the extension of male dominance over women in society in general. It implies that “men hold power in all the important institutions of society” and that “women are deprived of access to such power”. However, it does not imply that “women are either totally powerless or totally deprived of rights, influence, and resources.” Origin of Patriarchy Regarding the existence and origin of patriarchy, traditionalists do believe that men are born to dominate and women to be subordinate. They believe that this hierarchy has always existed and will continue, and like other rules of nature this one too cannot be changed. There are others who challenge these beliefs and say that patriarchy is not natural it is man-made and, therefore, it can be changed. Lerner, patriarchy was not one event but a process developing over a period of almost 2500 years (from approximately 3100 BC to 600 BC) and a number of factors and forces that were responsible for the establishment of male supremacy as we see it today. Gerda Lerner, begins by emphasizing the importance of women history in women’s struggle against patriarchy and for equality. According to her, patriarchy, in fact, preceded the formation of private property and class society. Although historically, patriarchy was a form of social organization in which the father or eldest male headed a family or tribe, the word's meaning has been extended to mean governance or domination by men. Patriarchy has gone through many forms,'' she said, adding that as it exists now, patriarchy is ''an institutionalized pattern of male dominance in society.'' In its inception, ''patriarchy was not an evil conspiracy of men. This is a system created by men and women inadvertently, with unforeseen consequences.'' Starting with prehistoric details Gerda hypothesizes that gender is created out of the fact that women do the mothering of the child. Prolonged and helpless infancy of the human child led to the fact that most nubile women would devote most of their adulthood to pregnancy, child bearing and nursing. There was a biological basis for this division of labor, but what came to be the oppressive part of that division was a social invention. Lerner also argues that the widespread existence of misogyny in societies is not due to biological or psychological differences between males and females, but

rather that it has historical explanations. She states that since patriarchy "has a beginning in history", it can be ended by historical process." According to the Radical feminists, patriarchy preceded private property. They believe that the original and basic contradiction is between the sexes and not between economic classes. Radical feminists consider all women to be a class. Unlike the traditionalists, however, they do not believe that patriarchy is natural or that it has always existed and will continue to do so. Women Subordination The term ‘women’s subordination’ refers to the inferior position of women, their lack of access to resources and decision making etc. and to the patriarchal domination that women are subjected to in most societies. So, women’s subordination means the inferior position of women to men. The feeling of powerlessness, discrimination and experience of limited self- esteem and selfconfidence jointly contribute to the subordination of women. Thus, women’s subordination is a situation, where a power relationship exists and men dominate women. In her book, The Creation of Patriarchy, Lerner said, “The use of the phrase subordination of women instead of the word “oppression” has distinct advantages. Subordination does not have the connotation of evil intent on the part of the dominant; it allows for the possibility of collusion between him and the subordinate. It includes the possibility of voluntary acceptance of subordinate status in exchange of protection and privilege, a condition which characterizes so much of the historical experience of women. I will use the term “paternalistic dominance” for this relation. “Subordination” encompasses other relations in addition to “paternalistic dominance” and has the additional advantage over “oppression” of being neutral as to the causes of subordination women have historically played a large role in the systemic subjugation of women, whether for self-preservation, to receive the benefits of class and more modernly "race", or for other reasons. She claims that it is likely that women accepted sex segregated tasks in their societies long before it led to sex based oppression. Action Plan What is interestingly evocative in her theory is Gerda outlines her call-to-action plan. She uses the image of a play to demonstrate this. She compares life to a stage where men and women are performers, both acting equally important roles, without either of whom the play can’t go on. But the stage is conceived,

painted, defined by men. They have written the play, decided on the props, fixed the lighting, assigning themselves the most interesting parts and have given the supporting roles to women. Women have begun the struggle to get “equal” roles, but are only now beginning to realize its not enough. Men control which women will get which roles. They punish and ostracise those who try to challenge the script or try to rewrite it. Simply adding women to the patriarchal framework won’t do. Only by placing women’s vision at its centre will be able to dismantle patriarchy. Its a paradigm shift waiting to happen. Patriarchy as a system is historical. If we can show it has a beginning, it follows we can show it to have an end and thus begin the work of its dismantling. She disagrees with Freud’s statement that “Anatomy once was Destiny”. She says “What Freud should have said is that for women, anatomy once was destiny. But it no longer is, and it should not be in the future. Patriarchy is a human creation, it is not functioning very well now, and it can be ended. We can't do that as long as we believe that patriarchy is natural or God-given. As a system, patriarchy is as outdated as feudalism, But it is a 4,000-year-old system of ideas that won't just go away overnight.”...