Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us by Johnson
I really enjoyed reading this chapter because it identified the larger problems with oppression of women and the violence they are subjected to by men. It was not until almost that end that I realized Johnson was a man. At that point, I actually found the chapter more interesting because we have not ready anything from a man’s perspective yet. I think the 3rd Wave Feminists are doing a great job and need to continuing raising women’s awareness of the oppression they face. However, I really liked Johnson’s writing because like all civil movement people on the inside with the power are needed to help the movement reach it’s goal. Johnson examines patriarchy as a whole system of U.S. society. He starts off by examining how we are “stuck in a model of social life that views everything as beginning and ending with individuals”. We are identified with titles depending on where we are. He goes on to talk women’s participation in these titles and how women are participating in patriarchy whether they are going with or against it. Something really interesting Johnson discusses is how society asks how can people do that when discussing violence against women. Johnson believes the question should be why do we live in a society that permits that behavior? This leads him to question the whole system and what the cycle of the system and the individual is. Johnson says the individuals create the system, yet the system is making the individuals act in certain ways. The paths of least resistance, as Johnson refers to, are ways of acting that are easier and the least confrontational. For example, a man will make a sexist joke and instead of speaking up and saying that is not funny stop, he will not say anything, ignores it or laughs. All three are paths of least resistance that are not challenging the “normal” patterns of society. Johnson uses the game Monopoly as an analogy of how people do not question the system. The individuals playing the game are caused to behave in the way that the rules are written. The individual want to win the game by having the most money and seeing their opponents become bankrupt. This does not reflect any of the players in how they really feel; yet they do not challenge the system of the game. This is similar to men who might not find a sexist joke funny, however they take the path of least resistance. Johnson argues that socialization tells us how patriarchy works, but it does not tell us what and why. He talks about patriarchy and the roles it creates in society. Men are at the center of the society with strong characteristics of manliness and power. Women are the feminine, nurturing, sensitive “other” that participates in this system. Whether or not individuals believe this or not we are still all participating in patriarchy. Johnson later on talks about male-privilege and how he did not ask for it but he received it. This male-privilege is similar to white-privilege. However, both identifies are able to abuse their privilege. Men use violence to control women sexually as they see them as potential sex objects. The idea of women as sex objects has come about through pornography. Johnson is upset because he has to be related to this behavior because he is a male. I thought it was significant how at the end Johnson said what he believed needed to happen. And he also said turn to Chapter 10 to find his solution.
Oppression- Marilyn Frye
I found Frye’s piece on oppression to be helpful in understanding oppression, but also the examples were a little silly. Frye demonstrated how people are oppressed without physically being seen as oppressed. I liked how she used the example of the bird cage and how unless you look at the wires macroscopically, you will not be able to understand the significance of the cage. This is the case with women. Women are oppressed for being too sexy, unfeminine and everything in between. They are oppressed if the have too much sex and if they have too little sex. There is no way for women to find grounds where they are not oppressed. Frye used the example of how men open the door for women. The door acts as a barrier and men need to remove it for women. I did not really find this example applicable to women’s oppression. All people open doors as a sign of respect and out of politeness. I open doors for my friends, parents and grandparents. I do not think it is fair to say that only women, and more attractive women, get doors opened for them. Opening doors use to be a sign of chivalry, strictly for men towards women. Some argue chivalry still exists yet people open doors because it is polite not because people cannot physically open it.
“Challenging Men to Reject Gender Stereotypes”- Jonah Gokova
Jonah talks about how men need to stop believing in they myth of how they are. Men are trying to live up to this myth and often fail to do so. He calls for men to realize their ways and that is their duty to want gender change. Men need to help women to become equals. Jonah says men need to change the attitudes about sex. They should never see women as something to conquer. They should see sex as “an opportunity to communicate mutually”. Men play a large part in creating gender separation whether they are conscious of it or not. Jonah makes a good point that men are losing creativeness by having to act in certain “manly” ways and not do anything to jeopardize their manhood. Jonah seems very optimistic and believes with the right work men can change their existence and end violence and abuse of women.
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