patriarchy

pa·tri·ar·chy

P0115100 (pā′trē-är′kē)n. pl. pa·tri·ar·chies 1. a. A social system in which the father is the head of the family.b. A family, community, or society based on this system or governed by men.2. a. Dominance of a society by men, or the values that uphold such dominance.b. The collection of men in positions of power, exerting such dominance. In all senses also called patriarchate.

patriarchy

(ˈpeɪtrɪˌɑːkɪ) n, pl -chies1. (Sociology) a form of social organization in which a male is the head of the family and descent, kinship, and title are traced through the male line2. (Sociology) any society governed by such a system

pa•tri•ar•chy

(ˈpeɪ triˌɑr ki)

n., pl. -chies. 1. a. a form of social organization in which the father is the head of the family, clan, or tribe and descent is reckoned in the male line. b. a society based on this social organization. 2. a. an institution or organization in which power is held by and transferred through males. b. the principles or philosophy upon which control by male authority is based. [1555–65; < Greek]

patriarchy

1. a community in which the father or oldest male is the supreme authority, and descent is traced through the male line.
2. government by males, with one as supreme. — patriarchist, n. — patri-archic, patriarchical, adj.See also: Male

1. a community in which the father or oldest male is the supreme authority in the family, clan, or tribe, and descent is traced through the male line.
2. government by males, with one as supreme. — patriarchist, n. — patri-archic, patriarchical, adj.See also: Father

a society organized to give supremacy to the father or the oldest male in governing a family, tribe, or clan. — patriarch, n.See also: Government

Thesaurus

Noun

patriarchy - a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male linepatriarchatesocial organisation, social organization, social structure, social system, structure - the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships; "the social organization of England and America is very different"; "sociologists have studied the changing structure of the family"

Translations

Patriarchatpatriarcato

patriarchy

patriarchy:

see matriarchymatriarchy,
familial and political rule by women. Many contemporary anthropologists reject the claims of J. J. Bachofen and Lewis Morgan that early societies were matriarchal, although some contemporary feminist theory has suggested that a primitive matriarchy did indeed exist
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patriarchy

a form of social organization in which a male (the patriarch) acts as head of the family/household, holding power over females and children (e.g. in Roman society).
any system whereby men achieve and maintain social, cultural and economic dominance over females and younger males. The term may refer to a pattern of organization within the family and households, etc., or within a whole society.

Although historically sociologists have mainly used the term descriptively, more recent usage by feminist sociologists has emphasized mainly its negative features. Analysis in sociology has been concerned with the origins and the implications of patriarchy. Although biological differences between men and women (e.g. physical strength in warfare) have sometimes been seen as the basis of patriarchy, the cultural and social sources of patriarchy, and its variations in form and importance, are equally striking.

Within FEMINIST THEORY, use of the term patriarchy has lead to the politicization of discussion of GENDER relations, enabling gender relations to be understood as predicated on inequalities of power.

Patriarchy

the most widespread form of primitive communal relations during the period of their breakdown. The patriarchy is characterized by the dominant role of men in the economy, society, and family.

The transition to patriarchy took place during a period of significant development in the productive forces and an increase in labor productivity in all aspects of the primitive communal economy: agriculture, cattle raising, hunting, and fishing. The development of production caused the growth of exchange and the rise of private property. Almost everywhere men replaced women in the sphere of basic production and confined them primarily to domestic labor. The patriarchy is also characterized by patrilinear inheritance. The kinship group loses its economic unity but retains other elements of kinship. In addition, the patriarchy is marked by the transition from pairing marriage to monogamy, the settling of the wife in the husband’s communal group (patrilocal marriage), and the formation of large patriarchal families. Patriarchal relations were further strengthened with the growth of property differentiation, the emergence of patriarchal slavery, and the rise of class divisions.

The question of the place of the patriarchy in the history of society has been discussed for many centuries. One widely held theory claimed that human society had always been patriarchal. The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle supported this theory, which dominated medieval thought on the history of society. In the 19th century it was advocated by H. Maine. In the 1860’s and 1870’s J. Bachofen and later L. H. Morgan refuted the idea of the primordial character of the patriarchy. Key features of Morgan’s views were supported and developed by F. Engels, and they have been accepted by most Soviet scholars. But even in the 20th century a significant number of bourgeois ethnologists adhere to the theory of the primordial character of the patriarchy.

REFERENCES

Engels, F. Proiskhozhdenie sem’i, chastnoi sobstvennosti i gosudarstva. In K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 21.
Morgan, L. H. Drevnee obshchestvo. Leningrad, 1934. [Translated from English.]
Kosven, M. O. “Perekhod ot matriarkhata k patriarkhatu.” Tr. ln-ta etnografii, vol. 14. Moscow, 1951.
Problemy etnografii i antropologii v svete nauchnogo naslediia F. Engel’sa. Moscow, 1972.

L. A. FAINBERG

patriarchy

pa·tri·ar·chy

patriarchy

pa•tri•ar•chy

patriarchy

patriarchy

patriarchy:

patriarchy

Patriarchy

REFERENCES

patriarchy

Synonyms for patriarchy

noun a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

Synonyms

Related Words