FYI “patriarchy” is a gendered term which comes from the Latin, originally meaning “church government by patriarchs” (1560s) and later evolved to mean “society or government by elder males” (1630s). Historically, it referred to autocratic rule by men. More recently it has been expanded in feminist theory which broadly ascribes a set of toxic behaviours to men as a group. The problem with this word is that men don’t have a patent on toxic behaviour. It’s often not men telling other men not to cry and to man up, for example. It’s often the women in our lives, and especially our romantic partners. Raising “patriarchy” in this discussion is tantamount to blaming men for the issues they experience, and this is not helpful to anyone. No more than suggesting rape victims are also victims of the “matriarchy.” If you understand how offensive that might seem to you, you might understand how offensive your comment can be to men.
FYI “patriarchy” is a gendered term which comes from the Latin, originally meaning “church government by patriarchs” (1560s) and later evolved to mean “society or government by elder males” (1630s). Historically, it referred to autocratic rule by men. More recently it has been expanded in feminist theory which broadly ascribes a set of toxic behaviours to men as a group. The problem with this word is that men don’t have a patent on toxic behaviour. It’s often not men telling other men not to cry and to man up, for example. It’s often the women in our lives, and especially our romantic partners. Raising “patriarchy” in this discussion is tantamount to blaming men for the issues they experience, and this is not helpful to anyone. No more than suggesting rape victims are also victims of the “matriarchy.” If you understand how offensive that might seem to you, you might understand how offensive your comment can be to men.
managed to make a comment about the damaging aspects of male dominated society into hating women, congrats.