The material is significant as it tries to explain the causes and solution to patriarchy. According to Johnson (pp 123) he refers patriarchy as inequality. He argues that patriarchy such as gender inequality and racism are championed by evil individuals. Johnson (pp 124) continues arguing that people usually blame the “system” yet they do not understand it. If they understood the system, they could use it to solve the problem of patriarchy.
The article is very convincing and credible. In referring to Johnson (pp 127), he relates his argument to the monopoly game. The game is controlled by a set of rules. He argues that patriarchy is like the game as it is controlled by the rules we set in our society. The author also shows how some philosophers had wrong ideas on how to end patriarchy. Robert Lay for example, wanted to change patriarchy but did not consider patriarchy as the root cause of the problem (Johnson pp 131). Johnson (pp 146) concludes by arguing that we should stop blaming the system and change our views. This is the only solution since the system was created by people’s views.
We can relate the author’s arguments to the current society. People tend to blame everything on industrialization and politics. Majority of men are not respectful and mindful. They believe they are “super warriors” and women should always respect them.
Questions:
- What are the solutions to patriarchy?
- The author uses the monopoly game as an example, was it appropriate to his arguments?
- Are we right to blame social problems as the cause of patriarchy?
Important Terms:
- Patriarchy- This is the dominance of men over women in a society.
- System- The system is the beliefs that we share in the society.
- Individualistic model- one of the models established to explain and end patriarchy.
Work cited
Johnson, Allan. The Gender Knot (Patriarchy, the System: An it Not a He, a Them, or an Us). Delhi: Pearson Education India. 2007. Print
