Li Yinhe talks about sex

Chapter 48 Criticism of Patriarchy

Patriarchy is neither "natural" nor eternal; it is constructed and subject to change.

So far, most cultures in the world have formed a patriarchal system, which has lasted for thousands of years, with only a few exceptions. Examples include some island countries studied by anthropologist Mead and the Yunnan Province of my country studied by Cai Hua. Mosuo culture.Thus, it can be asserted that patriarchy is a cross-cultural phenomenon.

Although feminist theories vary widely, they remain highly consistent on one point, that is: patriarchy is neither "natural" nor eternal, it is artificially constructed and can be changed.In fact, it has changed a lot in the last 100 years.This change is related to the efforts of feminist theorists and practitioners, and is the direct result of the surging women's movement.

In a nutshell, patriarchy includes the following: First, male dominance: All positions of authority, whether in politics, economics, law, religion, education, the military, or the family, are reserved for men.Judge women by men's standards, not the other way around.For example, imagine a newspaper saying about the president: "I wonder if he can be as good a president as a woman."At the same time, it seems so "natural" and commonplace in the newspapers to say this about a female presidential candidate (I wonder if she can be as good a president as a man).

Second, masculine identity: core cultural notions of what is good, desirable, desirable, or normal have always been associated with ideals of masculinity and masculinity.For example, use the "he" of "man" to represent human beings.Men are in the foreground and women are in the background, which marginalizes women and turns women into exceptions and exceptions to the norms. Under the premise that men are outsiders and women are insiders, work that earns money is regarded as a career, and housework that does not earn money is not cause.

Third, the objectification of women.The use of women as objects in male affairs and transactions.Restricting and obstructing female creativity; denying women access to many areas of society's intellectual and cultural achievement; denying female sexuality; imposing male sexuality on women; commanding and exploiting female labor and controlling its products; Preventing women's activities; cultural ideology and information demeaning women, demeaning women's roles, jobs, products and social environments; symbolic design implies demeaning women; social structural arrangements exclude women from the highest power mechanism in society.

Fourth, the patriarchal mindset.This includes dichotomous thinking, an either-or way of thinking that divides everything into black and white and ignores the middle.For example: Masculine and Feminine, Subject and Object, Light and Dark, Sense and Sensibility, Mind and Body, Good and Evil.Linear Thinking: Time and history progress linearly, ignoring cycles.

Hierarchical thinking: ignoring things that are just different, not high or low.

When men dominate women, what they say is: God or nature compels women to obey men, by endowing men with certain qualities (reason, logic, intellect, soul) and women with others (chaotic emotions, uncontrollable libido, etc.) ), marginalizing women.Men don't say anything about women directly, but use euphemisms to cover up the real meaning. When they want to make women submit to men, they use the slogan "protect the family".

In today's society, male elites dare not openly say that women are born second-class citizens. Discourse about a certain class of people born inferior has no legitimacy in the discourse of the 21st century.However, sexist discourses and ideas are far from exiting the arena of public discourse.The cause of equality between men and women will go through a long and arduous process.

(End of this chapter)