Do You Know What Patriarchy Really Is?
Seems like a good time to reflect about the bigger and deeper picture right now.
Patriarchy doesn't only play out as inequality between men and women, or oppression of women by men.
All forms of inequality, injustice, exploitation, and rigid ideologies are rooted in patriarchy, which many don't realize is rooted in geographical trauma.
Patriarchy wasn't a natural evolutionary urge nor was it inevitable. Patriarchy represents a one-sided valuing of the masculine (not meaning man) at the expense of the feminine (not meaning woman).
Children who don't feel safe in school, have witnessed or are victims of violence, or don't have basic needs met, exhibit defensive behaviors. They are slow to trust, quick to protect themselves, and have difficulty forming relationships.
Well, this is what patriarchy is but on a collective level. Patriarchy is a system of domination, hierarchy and ranking, defensiveness.
The ranking plays out between women and women, heterosexual men and gay men, adults and children, police officers and citizens, people with wealth and those without, CEO's and workers . . . you can think of many more.
Patriarchy survives by inflicting trauma through violence that comes in many forms, including economic (the movement towards a permanent renting class) and environmental (poisoned water and air).
Carol Gilligan, author of Why Does Patriarchy Persist? suggests that patriarchy is now a psychological defense mechanism to avoid the vulnerability that is needed to form deep connection with others.
We can see how it is climaxing today, which is also a sign it's hanging on for dear life because it's about to go down.
Patriarchy is not sustainable, but how it ends, is up in the air. What is the natural end of continual exploitation? We're seeing that now.
The other option is to consciously become more partnership oriented, a model that once existed in many parts of the world.
How have patriarchal systems shaped your relationship to the world around you? Your expectations and assumptions about others?
Can you find how patriarchy shows up in places you didn't realize it hung out?
More On the Topic
If you're already the kind of person that self-reflects, you're being called on to go even deeper. Your new insights will contribute to collective consciousness, even when others do not have the capacity to self-reflect.
C.G. Jung, one of the founders of depth psychology - study of the unconscious - had this concept he called the transcendent third. For those who are able to manage the tension between what seems to be opposing, there will be a third thing, a new insight or attitude, a new idea that represents a reconciliation between what was once at odds.
Can you manage the tension? We must right now. For more content on the topic:
Podcast episode - Can Christianity Transcend Patriarchy? A Conversation with Feminist Christian, Meghan Tschanz, author of Women Rising: Learning to Listen, Reclaiming Our Voice
Blog post - Can Christianity Transcend Patriarchy?
Blog post - The End is Coming . . . Of Patriarchy.
Blog post - Sex, God & Transcending Patriarchy.
Blog post - Men Are Not the Enemy.
Blog post - What if You're NOT Supposed to Find THE ONE?
All of this content is related, and I'm on a mission to encourage people to self-reflect about why they believe what they believe in order to transcend the limited notions that are holding humanity back from a leap in consciousness, which equals a leap in love.
Try This:
As you're reading a blog post or listening to a podcast episode, allow yourself to stop and follow your mind as it takes in certain concepts. Typically, we would scold ourselves for not being able to focus, but the distraction in this case is your unconscious trying to get you to pay attention to something. It might be a memory or a fantasy. Feel free to stop the recording or stop reading and allow your imagination to keeping going. If you're disciplined enough, get out your written or image journal and continue allowing your unconscious to communicate a new insight to you.
Ready For More?
I love doing this kind of work with my clients. If you’re ready to explore your inner world to get unstuck, leave behind toxic patterns or relationships, become more comfortable with dating, your body, and sex, or you’re ready to take bold action into an unknown future, just click this link to go to my services page and schedule a FREE 30 min. chat to see if we’re a match.
Maybe you want to start this journey in solitude. Allow my new book, Your Soul is Talking. Are You Listening? to help you learn the language of the unconscious. Take my FREE mini lessons on my newly launched YouTube program called Soul Talk 101. The first lesson is called, The Discovery of You. Follow me on Instagram to get beautiful images with reflection questions. Oh, and subscribe to Soul Talk Members Only for $10 per month (coaching clients are automatically enrolled) for monthly zoom calls where anything goes.
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