 | |
| Author | V. Geetha |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Academic |
| Published | 2007 |
| Publisher | Stree |
| ISBN | 9788185604466 |
| OCLC | 154204766 |
Patriarchy is a 2007 book by V. Geetha, an academic activist and author on the subject of patriarchy in India. The book, written from the female perspective, is part of the "Theorizing Feminism" series published by Stree (an imprint of Bhatkal and Sen)and first book on patriarchy in 1680 was written by sir Robert filmer. [1] Three editions have been published. [2]
In India, patriarchy disrupts women's lives. According to Geetha, [3] "Sexual violence has been blamed on a patriarchal backlash where the term 'patriarchy' is often synonymous with 'tradition'". [4] Feminism has a long tradition of examining the concept of patriarchy, [5] and the book attempts to demonstrate that the nature, effect, and meanings of male authority and power can only be understood through the idea of patriarchy. [6]
Patriarchy introduces readers to concepts in feminist theory involving patriarchy. According to Geetha, "The book does not propound a theory of patriarchy; rather, it points to those areas of reality and traditions of knowledge that we might need to draw upon to define patriarchy. It indicates the need for theory-making, and shows how this may be done. Its intent is fundamentally pedagogical and is a beginners' text to help the reader consider patriarchy in all its aspects". [7]
She describes how knowledge about patriarchy cannot be easily separated from the feminist desire to generate such knowledge: [8] "By understanding patriarchy, the notions of production and reproduction are important concepts". Geetha highlights unique aspects of Indian society, such as kinship structures and the caste system, [9] to better understand patriarchy. According to the author, "A woman's identity as a citizen and rights to equality are undercut by the fact of their gender". [1]
Geetha theorizes that patriarchal power "is not merely coercive ... Cultural and sexual norms constitute the everyday exercise of patriarchal power". [10] She also writes, "Sexuality is a crucial link between caste and gender, so that marriage and sexual rules are not only set by caste, but also the notions of right pleasure are defined by it." [11] [12]
Patriarchy has been widely cited in books and papers about feminism and gender studies, especially relative to India, [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] and has been used at the university level.[ citation needed ]
Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race, class, and sexual orientation. The ideology and movement emerged in the 1960s.
Socialist feminism rose in the 1960s and 1970s as an offshoot of the feminist movement and New Left that focuses upon the interconnectivity of the patriarchy and capitalism. However, the ways in which women's private, domestic, and public roles in society has been conceptualized, or thought about, can be traced back to Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and William Thompson's utopian socialist work in the 1800s. Ideas about overcoming the patriarchy by coming together in female groups to talk about personal problems stem from Carol Hanisch. This was done in an essay in 1969 which latter coined the term 'the personal is political.' This was also the time that second wave feminism started to surface which is really when socialist feminism kicked off. Socialist feminists argue that liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression. Socialist feminism is a two-pronged theory that broadens Marxist feminism's argument for the role of capitalism in the oppression of women and radical feminism's theory of the role of gender and the patriarchy. Socialist feminists reject radical feminism's main claim that patriarchy is the only, or primary, source of oppression of women. Rather, Socialist feminists assert that women are oppressed due to their financial dependence on males. Women are subjects to male domination within capitalism due to an uneven balance in wealth. They see economic dependence as the driving force of women's subjugation to men. Further, Socialist feminists see women's liberation as a necessary part of larger quest for social, economic, and political justice. Socialist feminists attempted to integrate the fight for women's liberation with the struggle against other oppressive systems based on race, class, sexual orientation, or economic status.
Cultural feminism, the view that there is a "female nature" or "female essence", attempts to revalue and redefine attributes ascribed to femaleness. It is also used to describe theories that commend innate differences between women and men. Cultural feminism diverged from radical feminism, when some radical feminists rejected the previous feminist and patriarchal notion that feminine traits are undesirable and returned to an essentialist view of gender differences in which they regard female traits as superior.
Materialist feminism highlights capitalism and patriarchy as central in understanding women's oppression. Under materialist feminism, gender is seen as a social construct, and society forces gender roles, such as bearing children, onto women. Materialist feminism's ideal vision is a society in which women are treated socially and economically the same as men. The theory centers on social change rather than seeking transformation within the capitalist system.
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Feminism in India is a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and opportunities for women in India. It is the pursuit of women's rights within the society of India. Like their feminist counterparts all over the world, feminists in India seek gender equality: the right to work for equal wages, the right to equal access to health and education, and equal political rights. Indian feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within India's patriarchal society, such as inheritance laws.
Bhatkal & Sen is a publishing partnership between Mandira Sen and Popular Prakashan. The company is based in Kolkata and publishes the imprints Stree and Samya. It is noted for publishing authors such as Kancha Ilaiah, Om Prakash Valmiki, Uma Chakravarti, Gail Omvedt, Manikuntala Sen, Ashok Mitra, V. Geetha, and Bani Basu, and has prominent scholars such as Susie Tharu and Maithreyi Krishnaraj as editors. It publishes academic works in the social sciences, memoirs and classic fiction in translation in English and Bengali.
Global feminism is a feminist theory closely aligned with post-colonial theory and postcolonial feminism. It concerns itself primarily with the forward movement of women's rights on a global scale. Using different historical lenses from the legacy of colonialism, global feminists adopt global causes and start movements which seek to dismantle what they argue are the currently predominant structures of global patriarchy. Global feminism is also known as world feminism and international feminism.
Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. Some patriarchal societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage.
Masculism or masculinism may variously refer to ideologies and socio-political movements that seek to eliminate sexism against men, equalize their rights with women, and increase adherence to or promotion of attributes regarded as typical of men and boys. The terms may also refer to the men's rights movement or men's movement, as well as a type of antifeminism.
Feminist political theory is a diverse subfield of feminist theory working towards three main goals:
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Susie Tharu is an Indian writer, publisher, professor, editor and women's activist. Throughout her career and the founding of several women's activist organizations, Tharu has helped to highlight those issues in India.
Kalpana Kannabiran is an Indian sociologist, lawyer, human rights columnist, writer and editor based in Hyderabad, India. In March 2021, after a decade-long tenure, she retired from the post of Professor and Regional Director of the Council for Social Development, Southern Regional Centre, a research institute recognised by the Indian Council of Social Science Research. She is amongst the founding faculty of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, and is a co-founder of the women's rights group, Asmita Resource Centre for Women, set up in 1991 in Hyderabad. She was nominated as the Civil Society Advisory Governor for Asia by the Commonwealth Foundation, London in January 2020 for a term of two years.
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