TUESDAY, 25 JANUARY 2011
Julia Evelyn Martínez (*)
SAN SALVADOR - Following a recent letter addressed to my fellow Salvadoran feminists in this newspaper, I received a series of messages - especially male callers-in which I recommend
explain
in feminist theory,
certain terms used in this letter, for example, patriarchy, patriarchal power relations, feminism, among others. Thus abusing the generosity editorial counterpoint, I allowed myself to write this column to refer in more detail at the end of patriarchy and its meaning, which I hope make a humble contribution to process knowledge of this system, as a precondition for the overthrow of it. Patriarchy is a form of political, economic, religious, ideological and social based on the idea of \u200b\u200bauthority and superiority of male over female, which leads to the dominance of men over women, husband over wife, father on the mothers and children, and patrilineal descent on the mother. The superiority of male over female is expressed in the standards, customs and institutions that regulate the lives of people in societies organized under the cultural framework of patriarchy.
Take for example language norms English, that are known and defended by many and many as "the rules of correct."
According to the Real Academia de la Lengua (RAE) defines orphan as "a lesser person
age who have died father and mother or one of the two, especially the father. " If language reflects the culture of a society, in the patriarchal system, a child is an orphan or a child who will be
his father died, the girl or boy to has been dead mother. The father is
superior in importance to the mother. The RAE definition of feminine and masculine is another example of the patriarchal nature of language. According to the SAR, the feminine is "unique to women; which are unique to the feminine, weak, weak," while the male is "belonging or relating to this being, manly, energetic." Contrary to popular belief, patriarchy is not as old as mankind. Anthropological and historical studies agree that the emergence of the patriarchal system occurred between 5.000 to 3.000 A. C.
initially Mesopotamia, China, Egypt and other countries in Africa.
His birth coincides with the appearance of surplus societies (economic surplus production beyond subsistence), which allowed in turn the emergence of private property) and the need
territorial expansion and control of other companies that could be a source of media for the production of wealth (as slaves, natural resources, etc.).
In the pre-emergence of patriarchy existed as a social division of labor between men and women, known as the sexual division of labor. Social work then as now - was composed of two types of activities: production of the necessary conditions for maintaining human life
(Care work or reproductive work) and production of material to satisfy the needs of human survival through fishing, hunting, development tools, etc. (Productive work).
Also contrary to popular belief, this division of labor was not natural but the result of an agreement or covenant
between men and women , which is
became social custom. The role of women in human reproduction (pregnancy and lactation ) represented the determining factor in shaping the social division of labor, due to increased specialization in care activities that women could achieve through its primary approach to the offspring. However, this did not mean that women were considered inferior within these societies. By contrast, subsistence societies, reproduction and
life support was considered by people
as precious gifts, and femininity was linked symbolically to these gifts. have a vagina instead of a penis was not considered a cause of inferiority but
proximity with the supernatural and the divine. The deities were primarily female (Ishtar in Babylon, Isis in Egypt, Gaia in Greece, Asherah in Israel), women participated in religious rituals and community, the descent was defined by maternal line and often the men left their families and communities to incorporate to the women. However, it is necessary to clarify that these societies were matriarchal not, ie it was not feminine societies where subordinate to the male, nor societies in which women ruled and / or exercised violence against men. Rather were relatively egalitarian societies where men and women are complementary in seeking to resolve the fundamental economic problem: survival.
Over time and with the advent surplus societies appeared the need for wealth accumulation and transmission of inheritance between generations. Men to have specialized in the production of material wealth in the previous stage,
unilaterally assumed control of the property
and distribution thereof. In this process, we used sexual division of labor pre-existing and the new
marker of identity and power of women and men in society. The field of reproductive care and spent
be considered "less important" as a feminine world
nature . In return, the realm of production not only came to be considered "more important
" but socially configured as a male space par excellence. As a result, It was institutionalized by custom, religion, violence and law the superiority of men over women. The institutionalization of patriarchy began with the invasions of subsistence communities and the massive violations of their women, as a ritual of humiliation and symbolic subjection of peoples to their invaders. Then proceeded to impose
male gods - with war and violent characteristics
- in replacement
of female deities: Ishtar was replaced by Marduk, Gaia was overthrown by Zeus; Isis and Horus was replaced by Asherah was by Yahweh. The new religions in their founding myths incorporated the idea of \u200b\u200bthe inferiority of women and justification for the application of violence on them. Both in Greek mythology as in the Judeo-Christian traditions, which will have an enormous influence on our culture, emphasis on the traits of superiority of man, while consistently reinforced the idea of \u200b\u200binferiority and dependence evil women. Patriarchy further strengthened with the establishment of laws and codes inspired by the ideas of the new religious mythology in order to convert these ideas into legal standards. One of the first laws of this system was Veil Law, set in approximately 1.500 A. C., which was enacted to legitimize the power of men on the body and sexuality of women, according to this law, were required to wear a veil all women who served him sexually
a single man for purposes of procreation, who are hereinafter called "respectable women." These women to maintain their status of respectability (and not be victims of sexual violence of other men) were forced to remain faithful to the man who sexually served and to provide legitimate offspring and numerous.
The institutionalization of patriarchy finally operationalized through the establishment of the patriarchal family (polygamous or monogamous)
oriented control of sexuality and reproductive function of women to ensure legitimate children who cross the family estate. Female subordination remained well established.
How has held since then to date the patriarchy?. Like any social system, economic or political, reproduction was made possible through the combined use of enforcement mechanisms (use of violence) and non-coercive mechanisms (gender socialization process).
Gender violence is one that suffered by women "because they are women." This means it is designed and targeted violence against women in order to provoke damage, suffering or death
defined from motivation Home: play status subordination of women to male power in either the private or in public. A man who beat, torture and / or kill their partner does not by anger, jealousy or stress. He does it to humiliate and submit to his rule. And submit and humiliate, implicitly sends a warning message to all women in the world. For its part the process of gender socialization is the process by which society teaches its members to be and to behave according to established standards by the patriarchy, children are trained from birth to feel superior to women, to assault women, to repress his tenderness and his ability to feel and to love. Instead girls are trained to put your life in terms of pleasing (or entertaining), obey, raise children and be good wives and to suffer and to be resigned to violence against women. This training for inequality of rights is carried out by various institutions (family, school, churches, media, State)
and pursuing a great goal: to make it look natural inequality, discrimination and violence against women.
often are accused women of being the main "accomplices" of
macho." This accusation has no sense when you realize that the alleged collaboration of women from patriarchy is not an option but voluntarily accepted
imposition of gender socialization which have been since birth. Women are trained in various ways to submit patriarchy and to promote the submission of other women (especially girls and young women). In the context of gender socialization, women learn without knowing the use of better "secret weapons" has perfected this system: the enmity between women. This enmity prevents women from realizing their guild in inequality, in
discrimination and gender violence
that prevents them from pooling of interests and struggle against their common enemy
. How long there patriarchy? Are we close to or away from your end? It is difficult to advance a definitive answer to these questions. However, there are at least three possible hypotheses.
For example, Manuel Castell in his book "The Information Society"
argues that even if the patriarchy is still the basic structure of contemporary societies, is inevitably doomed to an end due to the advent of the information society within capitalism, and warns that this decline will provoke more violence and hatred against women, as would be happening today.
suggest
the end of patriarchy depends on the end of capitalism, because in this economic system patriarchy has found a strategic partner to the extent that the accumulation of capital not only accommodates and takes advantage of the social structure of patriarchy ( lower wages for women load of unpaid care work of women,
etc.) but additionally contributes to its reproduction by promoting cross-class brotherhood between exploiters and exploited (and between left and right) for the maintenance of male supremacy. Consequently, the end of patriarchy as well as delay will delay the end of capitalism.
etc.) but additionally contributes to its reproduction by promoting cross-class brotherhood between exploiters and exploited (and between left and right) for the maintenance of male supremacy. Consequently, the end of patriarchy as well as delay will delay the end of capitalism.
A third assumption in this debate states that the end of patriarchy is not related to the life cycle of capitalism, to the extent that its existence predates the emergence of this economic system in the seventeenth century and that patriarchy has demonstrated its ability to survive in capitalism, as evidenced by the experience of socialism in the twentieth century (and probably XXI century socialism.)
The end of patriarchy would be premised on achieving a triple empowerment of women, economic autonomy, political autonomy and However,
autonomy of the body. In short, patriarchy is not a category of analysis (as it what is the generic category) is rather a reality
force condemning to inequality, discrimination and violence for more than 50% of the population. In consequence
its existence does not depend on whether you like or dislike this term, but whether or not existing conditions and
the social, political, economic, legal and ideological basis of which reproduce institutionalized and discrimination and violence against women. Fighting patriarchy (NO against men or against women who defend it) and establishing a system where there is real equality between men is a sign that characterizes the struggle feminists, and is what distances us opportunists of every kind and / or variety using the
address gender as a modus vivendi
to ensure their personal ends or as a modus operandi to give the patriarchy "a human face" for their purposes of political domination.
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