Lilly McAveeney
Instructor: María Salvador
Philosophy 233-201
30 January 2019
Overcoming Patriarchy: The Change We Need
Throughout the nation, everyone is to blame for the perpetuation of patriarchy. In her essay,
“Understanding Patriarchy,” bell hooks reveals the harmful effects of patriarchy on men.
Without overlooking the inequality that exists between gender roles, hooks argues that men are
not the only ones responsible for enforcing patriarchy, women too are agents of this system
aiding in its reproduction. In defining patriarchy and revealing who is responsible for its
continuance, hooks reveals the necessity for all members of society to change in order to put an
end to the system.
Patriarchy, according to bell hooks, is the system children learn the most about growing up.
It is argued by hooks that this political-social system is one that “insists that males are inherently
dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females,” going on to
say that men are “endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain
that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence” (1; column 1).
In the patriarchal system, men are born with the right to be dominant and women submissive
merely because of the gender they are assigned to at birth. These teachings make their way into
homes through institutions that reinforce such ideas such as schools and churches (hooks 1;
column 2). From the very beginning of the essay, hooks defines patriarchy as “the single most
life-threatening disease assaulting the male body and spirit in our nation” (1; column 1).
Patriarchy manifests itself in psychological and concrete forms, no one is free from these
manifestations.
Growing up Alexander’s parents worked to maintain a home that promoted
antipatriarchal values, however, this did not prevent him from being traumatized into the
patriarchal thinking that forces boys to feel pain and deny their feelings. At the age of three,
Alexander often dressed as Barbie – this stopped when his older brother’s friends used their
judgmental stares to inform Alexander that his behavior wasn’t acceptable. The looks Alexander
received evoked shame in himself and this is when he began to learn the rules that govern the
patriarchal system (hooks 2; column 2). The simple look exchanged between Alexander and
his brother’s friends is an example of a psychological manifestation of patriarchy.
Dominant/subordinate, strong/weak, emotionless/emotional; psychologically, these ideas
are ones we maintain to differentiate “masculinity” and “femininity.” Psychological patriarchy
is a system that distinguishes what is considered to be masculine and feminine – half of the traits
are celebrated and the others are deemed weak (hooks 5; column 4). Psychological patriarchy
describes patriarchal thinking; this type of thinking socializes everyone in the system and shapes
the values of our culture (hooks 2; column 2-3). Alexander dressing as a female character was
not considered “masculine” and therefore his brother’s friends looked down upon him. They
simply thought it was wrong, forcing Alexander to feel ashamed and deny himself of something
that brought him joy. Psychological patriarchy confines men to characteristics that are thought
to be masculine, concrete patriarchy exerts male dominance and control onto others.
As a child, hooks enjoyed playing marbles with her brother. However, when her father
observed that his daughter was better at the game than his son, he decided that she would no
longer be allowed to play. One evening, her brother decided to play and hooks was told she
could not play with him because the game was not for girls. She pleaded for her right to play by
picking up the marbles and failed to listen to her father when he told her to stop. At just four
years old, hooks’ father beat her with a board he broke off the screen door. His reasoning behind
the beating was that she was just a little girl so when he tells her to do something, he means for
her to do it (hooks 2; column 1). This beating was a concrete manifestation of patriarchy.
When bell hooks failed to listen to her father’s command, he responded with violence.
Violence is a concrete manifestation of patriarchy. According to hooks, male dominance is
required in a patriarchal system “by any means necessary, hence it supports, promotes, and
condones sexist violence” (2; column 3). She argues that violence is not uncommon in
patriarchal homes because it is used to “reinforce our indoctrination and acceptance of patriarchy
(hooks 2; column 2). Concrete manifestations of patriarchy are physical acts, such as violence,
which reinforce the patriarchal system.
In defining patriarchy in terms that are both psychological and concrete, bell hooks reveals
how everyone is negatively influenced or impacted by patriarchy, challenging the idea that
women are the only ones plagued by its consequences. According to hooks, the end of
patriarchy requires that its psychological and concrete manifestations are challenged (5; column
2). Challenging such manifestations begins with acknowledging that men are not the enemy.
On the surface, it may appear as though the enemies of Alexander’s story and bell hooks’
story are only men, leading one to conclude that men are solely responsible for the perpetuation
of patriarchy. This is not the case. Following the beating that hooks received from her father,
she was banished to be alone in the dark. Later, her mother acted in service of the patriarchy by
supporting her father’s actions and keeping hooks in her place – she told her “you need to accept
that that you are just a little girl and girls can’t do what boys do” (hooks 2; column 2). Her
mother’s actions serve as an example of how women too are agents of the patriarchal system.
According to bell hooks, patriarchal thinking is typically taught to us as children by our
mothers (2; column 3). Men are not the only ones that teach patriarchal thinking, as exemplified
by hooks’ mother. In fact, hooks points out that it is more common for female-headed
households to “endorse and promote patriarchal thinking with far greater passion than two-parent
households” (2; column 3). Men are not the enemy, this is highlighted by psychological
patriarchy because we all engage in the thinking that endorses such a system (hooks 5; column
2). Women and many feminist ideologies continue to perpetuate patriarchy by actively
upholding normative gender roles and complacency.
How can we put an end to the patriarchy? According to bell hooks, we cannot put it to an
end so long as there are feminist activists that perpetuate the patriarchy by blaming men for its
existence. She argues that often, feminist activists affirm the logic that “patriarchal ideology
brainwashes men to believe that their domination of women is beneficial when it is not” because
women fail to name the men’s actions (hooks 4; column 1). Without labeling this behavior, men
come to view it as positive and thus fail to understand how violence against women does damage
to themselves and others. Men are demanded by patriarchy to be emotionally crippled by
denying them access to free will (hooks 4; column 1). Women must recognize the pain
patriarchy inflicts upon men because, within this system, men are socialized to believe that
dominance over women is the goal and that denying human connection and emotion is normal.
Both genders uphold the patriarchy and both suffer the consequences – men are not just
perpetuators and women are not victims. We must not confine ourselves or one another to the
dichotomy that requires we be strictly man or woman.
In her essay, “Understanding Patriarchy,” bell hooks provides a clear, feminist insight into
the system that hurts the people of our nation. In defining patriarchy and revealing who is
responsible for its continuance, hooks reveals the necessity for all members of society to change
to put an end to this system. Psychological and concrete manifestations of patriarchy negatively
affect men and women, whether it be through psychological turmoil or acts of violence. There is
not just one person to blame, however. Men and women share blame for the perpetuation of the
patriarchal system. Everyone throughout this nation is guilty of reinforcing the patriarchy and
everyone is negatively impacted or influenced by it. Therefore, we all must change (hooks 5;
column 2). Future papers on the subject of patriarchy may consider the role it plays in
perpetuating and enforcing homophobia and transphobia.