Patriarchy is a system of social relations and institutions in which men dominate over women and children in private settings (family and household) and social, cultural, legal, political, and economic areas. Patriarchy has been historically and geographically almost ubiquitous, although it has existed in various forms, and not all societies have been patriarchal.  Cultural ideas, values, norms, and beliefs that support the patriarchal system are adopted through socialization in family, education, religion, etc.

               Patriarchy in the Sociological Perspective

Australian sociologist Reawyn Connell is best known for her contribution to the sociology of gender, which she presented in the books Gender and Power (1987), Masculinities (1995), and The Men and Boys (2001). In her approach, Connell integrates the concepts of patriarchy, masculinity, and femininity into the general theory of gender relations. Masculinities and femininities are always present and interconnected, and together they form a key part of the gender order. There are different forms of masculinity and femininity, even in the same society, and they function at different levels, from the individual to the institutional. Both patterns serve to maintain male dominance over women. Gender order and gender relations are the product of everyday interactions and practices that are reproduced over time but are also subject to change. Gender order almost always contains inequalities in three areas: work, power, and personal relationships (cathexis). These three areas are interconnected and changes in one area cause changes in the other two areas. The field of work refers to the gender division of labor in the household and at work. Unequal relations of power are expressed through the relations of authority, violence, ideology, institutions, state, etc. Inequality in personal relationships appears in marriage, sexuality, and the raising of children. Each gender order contains a large number of gender relationships.

The concept of “gender regime” refers to the structure of gender relations in specific institutions (family, state, neighborhood). Connell sees the gender order in a dynamic context because it is subject to change due to the actions of actors (human agency). In modern Western societies, there is a "gender crisis" that manifests itself on three levels. The first level is the crisis of institutions because there is a change in legal regulations concerning marriage, divorce, domestic violence, and economic relations. The second area is the crisis of sexuality because forced hegemonic heterosexuality ceases to function. The third area is the disintegration of traditional masculinities, especially through the emergence of the masculine pattern of a caring and dedicated father who cares for children and the home.

Connell also introduces the concept of "gender hierarchy" into her theory. This concept refers to a hierarchy of different forms of masculinity and femininity. At the top of the hierarchy is "hegemonic masculinity" which is associated with physical strength, firmness, and heterosexuality, but also with a well-paid job. This type of masculinity is achieved by a minority of men, but it benefits other men who exhibit "complicit masculinity" because they also enjoy the privileges of the patriarchal order. The lowest form of masculinity is homosexual masculinity. All femininities are below hegemonic masculinity. Emphasized femininity that reflects the classic image of a woman - beautiful, takes care of appearance, listens to men, raises children - is a complement to hegemonic masculinity. Femininities that deviate from the emphasized femininity - feminists, lesbians, prostitutes, manual workers - are isolated and silenced. This form of femininity she calls "resistant femininity."

Dorothy E. Smith believes that patriarchy is a dominantly organized structure of modern capitalism that exists at both the institutional and discourse levels. Although there are multiple places of power, power is always concentrated in specific institutions and practices that maintain the capitalist social order. Discourse and text mediate power in a subtle and hidden way - the state retains power through tax refunds, social security forms, and the like. Smith sees sociology as an ideological project that marginalizes the concept of gender order to maintain the patriarchal nature of society. She proposed an alternative, a sociology based on the positions and views of women (standpoint of women). This sociology takes into account the everyday life of women, but also the innate relations of ruling that are maintained through institutions and shape that everyday life. In the context of this view of sociology, Smith developed the concept of "institutional ethnography", which represents a methodological strategy for the sociological research of women. Although her theory shares some of the ideas of postmodernism, she criticizes the postmodernist rejection of the search for scientific truth.     

British sociologist Sylvia Walby is known for her work on patriarchy, gender, and gender equality, as well as domestic violence. Walby, in the book Patriarchy at Work (1986), explores the role of unions in maintaining patriarchy. In the engineering professions, men directly excluded women from the possibility of employment in those professions, while in the textile and clerical professions, male trade unions used a ranking system to limit women's advancement. She believes that unions are patriarchal institutions that limit women's ability to get good jobs or to find them at all, which makes women financially dependent on men and forces them to take responsibility for household chores. In her book Theorizing Patriarchy (1990b), Walby argues that patriarchy continues to be an excellent basis for explaining gender inequality. Her view of patriarchy is flexible, as she believes that patriarchy changes over time and that it acts differently among different classes or ethnic groups. Walby defines patriarchy "as a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women" (Walby, 1990b). She believes that patriarchy represents the institutional coexistence of both the patriarchal and capitalist modes of production. Throughout history, these two systems have gone through periods of harmony, but also tension, which is influenced by different historical circumstances. Capitalism has great benefits from patriarchy because the latter creates a gender division of labor.

Walby singles out six structures that are independent but also connected to each other, and which maintain patriarchy. 1) Patriarchal way of production in the household - men appropriate the unpaid work of women that takes place in the home, and also, women bear most of the care of raising children. In the domestic sphere, the patriarchal mode of production is still dominant for the largest number of women. For women, leaving a marriage often means falling into poverty. 2) Paid work - gendered labor market relations serve to exclude women from specific occupations and careers; that is, they are destined for jobs with lower wages and jobs that require fewer skills and education. The patriarchal way of production and discrimination in the sphere of the paid workforce women into marriage and isolated life in the household. 3) Patriarchal state - the state, through laws and practical policies, systematically works in the interest of patriarchy. 4) Male violence - this type of violence is not individual, but represents an established and systematic pattern of behavior and includes sexual crimes, physical violence, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of children. The state has not done enough to prevent violence and rarely prosecutes perpetrators. 5) Patriarchal relationship in sexuality is reflected in the double standards of acceptable sexual behavior for women and men, as well as in the insistence on "compulsory heterosexuality". 6) Patriarchal cultural institutions - media, religion, and educational system portray women in ways that suit the patriarchal model, and this practice shapes women's identities and patterns of behavior. Pornography, as part of the culture, increases the freedom of men, while diminishing the freedom of women.

Walby distinguishes between private and public patriarchy. Private patriarchy refers to gender relations in the household and family and was most pronounced in earlier periods when women were forbidden to enter the public sphere. Public patriarchy refers to gender relations in the wider society. The state and the labor market are becoming the most important factors of oppression, exploitation, and the subordinate position of women. Although Walby recognizes that there has been a reduction in gender inequalities in Britain, she still believes that all structures and forms of patriarchy continue to exist and function and that women are isolated and subjugated in all areas of public life. She believes that among women from all ethnic groups in Britain, Muslim women are most likely to be oppressed by private patriarchy. In countries of market capitalism, the market plays the biggest role in public patriarchy. In welfare states, the state and the market are equally responsible, while in the former socialist states, the state and its institutions played the greatest role in public patriarchy.

Walby continued to study patriarchy, and in his book Sex Crime in the News (1991), she revealed how the media reported on the dangers of public places, and paid attention to the pathology of rapists, while completely avoiding reporting on marital rape and the patriarchal system that incites sexual violence against women. In the book Gender Transformations (1997), Walby noted some small positive developments but concludes that older women are still subject to domination within private patriarchy. In addition, post-Fordist changes in the economy have led to the emergence of a large number of poorly paid and insecure jobs, most often performed by women. Relatively speaking, women are very underrepresented in the most important positions, both in public jobs and private sector jobs.

                Patriarchy from the Perspective of Black Feminism

Angela Davis believes that the exploitation of the proletariat, sexism, and racism are related systems of domination that reinforce each other and that all three are inherent features of unfettered capitalism. Global capitalism strengthened bourgeois power and authority and extended race-based domination to the entire planet. Angela Davis also studied the topic of rape. She interpreted the rape of black women, who were slaves, by their white owners, as a method of controlling and subjugating slaves of both sexes. The stereotypes introduced during slavery still exist: African-American women are portrayed as sexually unrestrained, and African-American men as sexual predators. The author sees every form of rape as an expression of the desire for control and power, not as a consequence of unrestrained sexual desire. Subjugation and violence against women in the family are a consequence of capitalist patriarchal socialization.

bell hooks is best known for her contributions to multiracial feminist theory and the creation of "engaged pedagogy." hooks creates a feminist theory based on her own experience as an African-American woman. She explores how the combination of sexism and racism has marginalized black women. She called the system she was fighting "the imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy." However, she is also critical of other feminists because they overlook the importance of the influence of racial and class origin on the social position of women. She advocates the construction of “radical black subjectivity”, which occurs when a person begins to understand how the interconnectedness of the structures of domination that affect her works.

Audrey Lorde's feminist approach is organized around the "theory of difference". This theory criticizes the concept of binary opposition between women and men as too simplistic. Women's identities and living conditions are influenced by many factors: class, race, gender, sexual identity, age, and health. The patriarchal society controlled the sexual behavior of women, which also influenced some feminists to have a very negative attitude toward the concept of eroticism. While some feminists perceived erotic as a symbol of male domination over women, Lorde saw erotic as a possibility of liberation for women from patriarchal domination. She believed that erotic, in addition to the sexual component, also contains aspects of enjoyment and love, which give freedom and power to women.

             Patriarchy from the Perspective of Liberal Feminism

American sociologist Charlotte Perkins Gilman, in Women and Economics (1898), introduces a feminist critique of the economic position of women in patriarchal societies and recognizes the importance of women's unpaid domestic work. In the book The Man-made World or Our Androcentric Culture (1911), she explores how men monopolize all human activities, and call them men's work. Family and marriage serve the needs of men and the subordination of women. She studied the political and cultural processes of "normalization" and "masculinization" which create the social construction of women as a deviation or inferior version of what is valuable and desirable, i.e., men. Gilman also wrote about her own experience with postpartum depression and how doctors at the time refused to acknowledge that it was a real disease and were quick to classify it as a common female hysteria, which was, at that time, medically referred to as neurasthenia.

Betty Friedan is one of the founders of the second wave of feminism. In the book The Feminine Mystique (1966), she, based on her own experience, but also the experience of other women, concludes that patriarchal society imposes the role of a housewife on women. The imposed role of housewife, which is fulfilled by the fact that the woman maintains the household and the family, made women prisoners. Friedan calls on women to reject the imposed role of a happy and tame housewife and to move from the family to the public sphere. Women should work actively to achieve career success, as well as to constantly fight for social and political gender equality.

           Patriarchy from the Perspective of Marxist Feminism

In The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884) Friedrich Engels argues that with the historical advent of animal husbandry, there comes a sharp jump in the level of economic production, and this leads to the emergence of slavery, because, for the first time in history, defeated members of another tribe can be of economic benefit to the victor, as slave labor. With cattle breeding comes the greater economic role of men, so they also become owners of cattle and slaves. This also leads to changes in family relations, as it causes patrilineal calculation of kinship and to right of inheritance of property only through the paternal line, which, in the end, leads to the fall of matriarchy and the arrival of patriarchy to power. Engels believes that the fall of matriarchy is "a historic defeat for women of world proportions". Men came to power, while women became subordinate to male autocracy, and their purpose became only to serve and give birth to children. Patriarchy, unlike matriarchy, where relations between the sexes would be more equal, introduces the autocracy of men as the heads of the family, not only over women but also over children and family slaves. To ensure that children born in wedlock are the direct biological descendants of the father, complete control over the movement and behavior of the woman is introduced. Although polygamy was reserved only for men, it was rare and a privilege only for richer men.

French sociologist Christine Delphy believes that marriage is still a structurally unequal relationship, because the opportunities for women in the public sphere are fewer (especially in the sphere of work), while the gender division of work is still maintained within the domestic sphere. In her opinion, there are two main ways of production in modern society. The industrial type of production is based on capitalist ownership and exploitation, and the patriarchal mode of production is defined by patriarchal exploitation. In this sense, she views marriage as an institution based on the male appropriation of female labor. Both modes of production are autonomous and separate. The patriarchal mode of production leads to the fact that women belong to a single class, so the status of every woman is independent of the status and wealth of her husband. The patriarchal way of production implies that the man, as the head of the house, appropriates the free work of the woman and other subordinates of the household. Women do the vast majority of all household chores, take care of children and the elderly, and also perform emotional, reproductive, and sexual roles. In addition to control over work, men have complete control over property, money distribution, and consumption. Women, even when working, perform all domestic roles, while still having no control over the property. All women are united by a common oppression by men.

American political scientist Zila Eisenstein believes that it is unnecessary to study capitalism and patriarchy separately because these two orders together form a single system, which she calls "capitalist patriarchy". To end such an oppressive system, two simultaneous revolutions are necessary - socialist and feminist. She studied the relations between socialists and feminists within trade unions. She examined the rise of neoliberalism and imperial and militaristic globalization and how such globalization affects the decline of liberal democracy in the world, as well as the creation of new gender and class formations around the planet. The subject of her study is also how patriarchy shapes the racial structure and new forms of nationalism. Her goal is to build a coalition of women around the world, regardless of their differences.

       Patriarchy from the Perspective of Psychoanalytic Feminism

In Psychoanalysis and Feminism (1974), Juliet Mitchell combines Althusser's view that ideology is relatively independent of economic relations with Jacques Lacan's psychoanalysis. The view of the relative independence of ideology enables Mitchell to create a theory of the subordination of women, which is independent of the analysis of the role of women in capitalist production. She believes that the role of women in the economy was key for women's position while the whole society was based on kinship, however, in capitalism, kinship ceased to be the basis of social and economic reproduction. The subordination of women in modern society is maintained more through ideology, and the ideology itself is reproduced on a subconscious level through the re-enactment of Oedipal drama between generations. That is why the struggle against patriarchy must take the form of a cultural revolution.

Michèle Barrett, in the book The Politics of Truth: From Marx to Foucault (1991), uses Marxist and Foucault's concepts to examine the complex matrices of women's subordination. Barrett examined contemporary feminist theory in her book Destabilizing Theory: Contemporary Feminist Debates (1992). She notes that modern feminists are increasingly rejecting major theoretical systems such as liberalism and Marxism, and instead adopting a poststructuralist and postmodernist approach. She calls this process of rejecting macro-theoretical systems "destabilization of theory". In her later work, she identifies female subordination in the family-household system as something that serves to organize the relations of production of a social formation as a whole. Thus, the family-domestic system of subordination provides a uniquely effective mechanism for ensuring the maintenance of the continuity of the entire social system. Barrett believes that the concept of patriarchy has analytical limitations. Gender inequality is not simply a product of women's experience, but it springs from ideology, that is, the way women and the family are represented in the media and culture.

         Patriarchy from the Perspective of Radical Feminism

Shulamith Firestone, in several articles, and the book The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for the Feminist Revolution (1970a), expounds on a feminist theory that views male domination over women as the most basic form of domination, while all other forms of exploitation and domination (capitalism, racism, imperialism) emanate and arise from patriarchal domination. The patriarchate used biological differences - pregnancy and childbirth - as a justification for domination. Biological differences between the sexes led to the creation of what Firestone calls the "biological family".

Kate Millett, in the book Sexual Politics (1969), introduces the difference between a biologically determined sex and the social construction of gender roles and sexual identities. Sexual politics, for Millett, represents the idea that gender is a status category within a stratified system of gender hierarchy, and therefore, gender has great political implications. The patriarchy establishes norms that regulate gender and sexuality and creates a distinction between the roles of both sexes in the public and private spheres. This causes the reproduction of inequality between men and women, both in the public, that is, the political sphere, and in the private sphere. She sees patriarchy as the most widespread ideology and as the most significant relationship of domination in every society.

Millett singles out eight factors that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of patriarchy: 1) the early socialization encourages the intensification of innate biological differences between the sexes (men should be strong and aggressive, and women passive); 2) the ideology of patriarchy has its roots in different socializations of the sexes, because men are brought up to have a dominant character, which gives them a higher social status and greater social power; 3) the family has a great role in maintaining patriarchy, because mothers and children get their social status through the social status of the father, and in addition, the family is the most important place of early socialization; 4) women form a separate caste, because they are economically dependent on men, and in addition, men have psychological superiority over women, which they achieve through physical and psychological domination and oppression; 5) economic inequalities are exacerbated by educational inequalities, as women are educated for professions that are less paid and less valued; 6) religions and myths are used to give patriarchy sacral legitimacy; 7) due to all the previously mentioned factors, as well as due to sexist language, women internalize the passive character and the attitude that male domination is something normal and given; 8) Physical violence against women, which also includes sexual violence, has a huge impact on maintaining patriarchy.

In her view, one of the main aspects of patriarchy is its regulation of sexual activity itself, and this is primarily done by defining which sexual practices are legal and which are not. Millett studies how literature, sociology, psychology, and anthropology are used to create a dominant theory that serves to strengthen existing gender hierarchies. These intellectual areas have always viewed and defined a woman as something different or inconsistent with the normal (man). She advocates the creation of a society free of culturally defined gender roles, where all people will be able to develop a complete personality and where everyone will have the freedom to express their gender or sexual identity, without any social restrictions.

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