Understanding Patriarchy as a System

Definition and Structural Components

In order to address inequality at its root, it is essential to understand what patriarchy is beyond its traditional etymological definition.

Although historically the term alluded to the "rule of the father" over an extended family, in modern sociology its meaning has evolved into a broader concept: the predominance of the masculine in the social structure.

It is not a question of isolated acts of individuals, but of an articulated system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. This system rests on three fundamental pillars.

• First, it is an organized social structure, not a random event.
• Second, it is based on the ideological premise that the masculine is superior to the feminine.
• Third, it manifests itself through men's disproportionate control over economic resources, decision-making and cultural production.

It is crucial to understand that this control is not absolute; there are women who reach positions of high power, such as CEOs or heads of state, but their individual presence alone does not dismantle the systemic structure that continues to favor the male collective in general terms.

The system has a double aspect: a visible structure (who occupies the positions of power) and an invisible ideology that justifies and naturalizes this inequality through culture, language and customs.

Origins, Myths and Intersectionality

There are various theories about the origin of this system. The traditionalist and determinist view argues that biology dictates destiny: men's greater average physical strength historically made them hunters and warriors, while women's reproductive capacity confined them to the home.

However, anthropological research on hunter-gatherer societies refutes the idea that male supremacy is universal or eternal, showing that gathering (performed by women) was often the primary source of sustenance.

Nineteenth-century social theorists, such as Friedrich Engels, proposed that inequality is not natural, but historical, arising with the emergence of private property.

According to this view, to ensure that wealth was passed on to their legitimate descendants, men needed to control female reproduction, overthrowing previous more egalitarian or matrilineal systems.

Moreover, patriarchy does not operate in a vacuum; it works through intersectionality.

This means that gender intersects with other systems of hierarchy such as economic class, ethnicity or social status.

For example, a high-level male executive wields different power than a migrant worker, even though both benefit from certain male privileges in their respective contexts.

Oppression, therefore, is multidimensional and mutually reinforcing between these systems.

Summary

Modern patriarchy transcends family authority, defining itself as an articulated social system where the masculine dominates structurally, oppressing and exploiting women through organized social practices and not as isolated acts.

This system is based on the ideological premise of male superiority, exercising disproportionate control over economic resources and decision-making, naturalizing inequality through invisible culture.

Its origin is not biological but historical, linked to private property and reproductive control. Moreover, it operates intersectionally, intersecting with class and ethnic hierarchies that mutually reinforce multiple dimensions of oppression.