@blatham,
Quote:I was speaking to the many species of injustice that befall women within a patriarchy where their membership is second class.
I always thought of "patriarchy" as a gross over-simplification of powerplays at work in any society, and how they evolve. It's a fancy but deceptive and disempowering concept in my view.
Eg beyond gender, class, race and age differences play a huge role. An average young black male in the US nowadays is often less powerful than an average middle age white female. Does that mean that some men are third-class members in the "patriarchy"?
There are also lots of power imbalances and competition between women themselves, a fact which the term "patriarchy" tends to negate, evoking as it does a lone patriarch surrounded by a retinue of non-descript, undifferentiated females.
Better to speak of "men-dominated" professions, countries or businesses; that makes much more sense, and it leaves open the possibility of change. It also helps realize that some professions or businesses can be "women-dominated", eg the education field in many contemporary western societies, which could be used as assets or byilt upon.
Women are not powerless -- there's a few cards they can play, always. Including saying "no" to unwanted proposals, as Hightor mentionned, even if this may mean a less well paid job or career.
