The use of the term `patriarchy', in both feminist and sociological analysis, faces problems because of the etymological roots of the term, the form of its connection to political struggles, and the ahistorical fashion in which it is typically employed. There are four principle traditions within which the terms is used: as a kinship based system of government; as generalized masculine oppression; as a mechanism in the social reproduction of capitalism; and as a sex-class system. Elements of these traditions are recombined into a quadrapartite scheme for the analysis of masculine gender-systems which distinguishes between `patriarchy' (rule by male heads of extended families) and `viriarchy' (rule by adult males); and between directly oppressive systems and systems which operate by means of social reproduction.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alexander, Sally, and Taylor, Barbara 1981. `In defence of `patriarchy',' in Samuel, R. (ed.) People's History and Socialist Theory. London: Routledge.
Borchorst, Anette and Siim, Birte 1987. `Women and the Advanced Welfare State - A New Kind of Patriarchal Power', in Sassoon, A.S. (ed.) Women and the State. London: Hutchinson.
6.
Brenner, Johanna and Ramas, Maria1984. `Rethinking Women's Oppression'. New Left Review144:33-71.
7.
Connell, R.W. 1983. Which Way is Up?Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
8.
Connell, R.W. 1987. Gender and Power. Cambridge: Polity.
9.
Dahlerup, Drude 1987. `Confusing Concepts - Confusing Reality: A Theoretical Discussion of the Patriarchal State', in Sassoon, A.S. (ed.) Women and the State. London: Hutchinson.
10.
Delphy, Christine 1984. Close to Home (transl. and ed. by Diana Leonard). Amherst: University of Massachusetts.
Eisenstein, Zillah R. 1979. `Developing a theory of capitalist patriarchy and socialist feminism' and `Some notes on the relations of capitalist patriarchy', in Eisenstein, Z. (ed.) Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism. New York: Monthly Review.
13.
Eisenstein, Zillah R. 1986 [1981]. The Radical Future of Liberal Feminism. Boston: Northeastern University.
14.
Engels, Frederick 1975 [1884]. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (ed. and with an introduction by Eleanor Burke Leacock). New York: International.
15.
Firestone, Shulamith 1970. The Dialectic of Sex. New York: Morrow.
16.
Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth1982. `Placing Women in History'. New Left Review33:5-29.
17.
Hartmann, Heidi1976. `Capitalism, patriarchy, and job segregation by sex.'Signs1(3) Part 2:137-169.
18.
Hernes, Helga Maria 1984. `Women and the Welfare State. The Transition from Private to Public Dependence', in Holter, H. (ed.) Patriarchy in a Welfare State. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
19.
Holter, Harriet 1984. `Women's Research and Social Theory', in Holter, H. (ed.) Patriarchy in a Welfare State. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
20.
Kramarae, Cheris and Treichler, Paula A. 1985. A Feminist Dictionary. Boston: Pandora.
21.
Kuhn, Annette 1978. `Structures of patriarchy and capital in the family', in Kuhn, A. and Wolpe, A. (eds.) Feminism and Materialism. London: Routledge.
22.
Maine, Henry Sumner 1963 [1861]. Ancient Law. Gloucester: Peter Smith.
23.
McDonough, Roisin and Harrison, Rachel 1978. `Patriarchy and relations of production', in Kuhn, A. and Wolpe, A. (eds.) Feminism and Materialism. London: Routledge.
24.
Mies, Maria 1986. Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale. London: Zed.
25.
Millett, Kate 1970. Sexual Politics. Garden City: Doubleday.
26.
Mitchell, Juliet 1971. Woman's Estate. New York: Pantheon.
27.
O'Kelly, Charlotte and Carney, Larry 1986. Women & Men in Society. Belmont: Wadsworth.
28.
Rowbotham, Sheila 1983. Dreams and Dilemmas. London: Virago.
29.
Rubin, Gayle 1975. `The traffic in women: notes on the “political economy” of sex', in Reiter, R.R. (ed.) Toward an Anthropology of Women. New York: Monthly Review.
30.
Sassoon, Anne Showstack 1987. `Women's New Social Role: Contradictions of the Welfare State', in Sassoon, A.S. (ed.) Women and the State. London: Hutchinson.
31.
Summers, Anne 1975. Damned Whores and God's Police. Ringwood: Penguin.
32.
Waerness, Kari 1984. `Caring as Women's Work in the Welfare State', in Holter, H. (ed.) Patriarchy in a Welfare State. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
33.
Walby, Sylvia 1986. Patriarchy at Work. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
34.
Weber, Max 1978. Economy and Society (trans. and ed. Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich). Berkeley: University of California.
35.
Webster, Paula 1975. `Matriarchy: a vision of power', in Reiter, R.R. (ed.) Toward an Anthropology of Women. New York: Monthly Review.
