The term patriarchy refers to a society in which the men hold full control and authority over the household, political matters, and property. A patriarchal society is one which allows men to make all the decisions regarding the family and to generally have power over women in all aspects (Ortner, 2019). There have been a host of disparate and isolated events around the world recently, which support the fact that patriarchy is a widespread phenomenon across numerous cultures. In essence, patriarchy means that the male gender should automatically have complete control over the female gender without question or resistance. Patriarchy dictates that the woman should wholly depend on the wiles and whims of the man.
The USA is a patriarchal society. In the United States, patriarchy has bloomed and can be seen in incidences of sexism, examples of popular culture, and other isolated incidents. For instance, the “Me Too” movement as a result of sexual assault and sexual harassment of women and was intended to break the silence against such acts and confront the patriarchy. The campaign revealed stories of mistreatment and abuse by men and women in a country whose leader has sometimes been referred to as “the patriarch.” President Trump has made headlines on numerous occasions for his unfounded insults on female politicians and women in America. Women who have stood up to him have inevitably suffered the unfortunate consequence of being labeled as aggressive, unhinged, or crazy (Mahdawi, 2019). Patriarchy in American society also goes beyond the political landscape. For example, male violence against women has reared its ugly head in the form of mass shootings that took place in Ohio and Orlando. Both perpetrators had a known hatred towards women, but this is just one side of the patriarchal coin. High profile cases involving celebrities such as Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein both show that men in America are allowed to use their power to offend women (Smith, 2019).