Article by Asya Ardawatia, TPT Staff Writer

“Like men, women also internalize patriarchal values. They must, in order to survive.” - Phyllis Chesler, professor emerita of psychology at the College of Staten Island.

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I only have one question for professor Chesler: when, however, does survival become willing complacency? For many women, it was our female teachers in elementary school who taught us that if a boy harassed us on the playground, it was simply his way of showing that he liked us. It allowed boys to believe that abuse and affection are synonymous; it had a lasting influence on girls by educating them to remain quiet and submissive even in uncomfortable or abusive situations. In my experience, it has always been female teachers in my school who have been quick to dresscode a girl for even the smallest infraction. The infamous phrase “boys will be boys” has been reiterated by mothers anytime their son attacks another, whether it be male or female. In almost every aspect of life, we have seen women reinforcing the patriarchy alongside men.

In my AP Language and Composition class, we are currently researching a topic of our choice, mine being toxic masculinity. Two of our sources must be ones we personally disagree with. In my search for viewpoints that supported toxic masculinity, I was shocked to see that several of the ones I found were written by women. In Laura Wood’s “Violence Against Women Act Is a Totalitarian Violation of Democracy” on US News, she claims that this 1994 act has only been kept alive by “relentless feminist propaganda.”

Wood, without any data, asserts that women use domestic violence accusations to win custody cases, promote divorce, and deny men due process. She continues by claiming that is it “typical feminist bullying” when Democrats claimed that a refusal to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and the extension to include illegal immigrant women was, in her view, anti-women.

Wood is not alone in her characterization of the feminist movement and this rhetoric. In Caroline Kitchen’s “It's Time to End 'Rape Culture' Hysteria” in Time, she maintains that rape culture is a myth that poisons the mind of women and is a danger for men. One outstanding assertion she positions is that due process for men accused of sexual assault is obsolete. Of course, Kitchens ignores the fact that only about 6% of rapists ever serve a day in jail and 63% of sexual assaults are never reported to the police. When the statistics are condensed, you find that when an individual is raped, there is a 90% chance that the rapist will not face criminal consequences for the crime. She also postulates that by creating this idea of a rape culture, feminists and activists are “vilifying the average guy.” Yet, Herald columnist Clem Ford’s definition of rape culture is: "A state of existence in which the impact and reality of sexual violence is minimised while the perpetrators of it are supported by a complex system built on flawed human beliefs, mythologies about gender and good old fashioned misogyny."

In no way are any of these feminists she mentions in her article are implicating every man. Individually, I do not believe most men are “bad”; however, I believe a system that allows the perpetrators of sexual violence to get off scotch-free is bad. It is important that we understand that the patriarchy affects all but is upheld not only by men, but also by women.

Indeed, it is paradoxical that the same women who are harmed by the patriarchy continue to be the loudest advocates for justifying its existence. However, Phyllis Chesler provides some reasoning as to why women might be so opposed to other women, specifically victims of sexual assault. She recounts how in the early 2000s, prosecutors of rape trials would favor not having women on the jury because they would choose not to identify with the female victim as a psychological way to comfort themselves that “nothing so horrendous could ever happen to them”. Corroborated by a study from legal researcher Lynn Hecht Schafram, women in the court of law would blame the victims to avoid acknowledging their own vulnerability. Furthermore, Anet McClintock from the Australian Institute of International Affairs contends that anti-feminist hate groups attract women who feel excluded from progressive feminist movements. Women who were raised in conservative households may have been taught that existing outside of the norm and rejecting traditional values was taboo as well as the subconscious internalization to look down on other girls who don’t live the way they think is ‘acceptable’.

That is absurd. What is truly unacceptable is that millions of women around the world suffer from discrimination and inequality: restricted access to education, violence, sexual assault, and denied opportunities to succeed. This exists in America too, not just in developing countries as many far right-wing supporters would have you believe. Even as statistics and factual evidence continue to disprove the wave of criticism thrown at the feminist movement by women, due to the nature of the patriarchy, there will always be women who will fervently uphold the system - even if it crushes them.

The views articulated in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect the official stances of The Progressive Teen or High School Democrats of America.

The Role of Women in the Patriarchy