Dismantling patriarchy* How would you go about it? What do we need to do? OneBillionRising

[niyad]

was going to run an essay contest on this incredibly important topic, but had to postpone. So I thought I would just ask our amazing DU'ers for their thoughts.

Looking forward to your responses.

(OneBioonRising stands for the one in three women worldwide who will experience sexual/physical violence in her lifetime,)

*Patriarchy: a system of society or government in which men hold the power, and women are primarily excluded.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. Just as dismantling white supremacy will mainly be the work of white people, dismantling the

patriarchy will largely depend on men. And of course the two are intertwined.

[niyad]

3. Any suggestions for how it might be done?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. People have to start with themselves before they work to dismantle systems

Examine thoughts, biases, established truths that you hold and where they came from. Read up on feminism, particularly Black feminism, anticolonialism, and anti-racism. Dig into your motivations about why you do what you do and why you believe what you believe. Read generously. Expand your understanding of gender. Believe women and those who are not men. Be open to being wrong. Be ready to be corrected in public. Let go of your ego. It's a start.

[niyad]

8. Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful response.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. I like the way you think! nt

[Irish_Dem]

2. Tell men they have been in charge of the planet for 300,000 years and it is time for them

to take a break and relax for awhile. The women will take care of things for awhile.
The men can chill and hunt, fish, work on their cars or what ever it is that they do!

[Klaralven]

4. As a first step, we could hire only female police officers for a while, and see how that works out?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Abolish the police entirely.

[niyad]

6. Studies have shown that such a move would be helpful.

[lindysalsagal]

9. Mothers are already raising boys differently. But that has to come with empowering poor women

especially in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Women who are able to care for their children without fear can raise more enlightened boys who grow up to become reasonable men. It takes a generation of prosperity.

I volunteer in a non-prophet that has the most wonderfully egalitarian men. It's lovely. Since it's a non-prophet, they can turn away any men who are idiots. I absolutely love being part of it.

[niyad]

10. You make most excellent points. Education is indeed key.

Would love to hear more about your non- profit.

[lindysalsagal]

11. https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/

https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/

Amazing service for those who are leaving religion and or have suffered religious trauma.

[ismnotwasm]

12. "White feminism" needs to take a back seat

I follow a lot of youth culture on various social media platforms, and nothing is more encouraging than young intersectional feminists.

On Reddit there are call out subs, where men AND women, post creepy pms, “nice-guy” behavior and other strange versions of misogyny or entitled sexual behavior. YouTubers pick these up and amplify them. TikTok does this as well, and allyship with men and boys is going strong. One of the reasons social media is so important is because it reaches world wide, so many heartening stories from places one wouldn’t expect. The horrific stories are also amplified

Getting leaders in positions of power is another important piece to dismantle patriarchy. Economic opportunity another one. We saw an extreme sad version of this after the genocide in Rwanda, where so many had died, so many men, that women picked up the pieces of the economy.

Sexual equality, where women are not shamed for sexual choices.

Abortion seen as nobody else’s business except the person getting one.

Top of my head but enough for right now

[llmart]

14. Just my experience and two cents (which will buy you nothing these days)...

Mothers need to take an equal role in raising their sons. Oftentimes, when a son is born the mother assumes the father will take a greater role in raising him and teaching him how to be a man. But men of prior generations are likely to pass down the way they were raised without questioning whether it was right or wrong. The mothers feel their son needs to have a strong bond with the father, so she acquiesces to the father teaching him how to "be a man". That's all well and good if the father is an evolved male (they do exist). I took a greater role in raising my son for that reason and I also kept an eye out for wrong messages that he may have been receiving from other men besides his father.