by Sara Dennis

Created on: August 06, 2008

"Patriarchy is the power of the fathers: a familial - social, ideological, political system in which men - by force, direct pressure or through ritual, tradition, law, and language, customs, etiquette, education, and the division of labor, determine what part women should or shall not play, and in which the female is everywhere subsumed under the male." (Rich, 1992)

The feminist movement, which began in the late 19th Century, put forward explanations of how society should work by promoting the rights of women and challenging the patriarchal ideology of the social and cultural domination of women by men, an ideology upon which Western society was based. Patriarchy did not only affect women; men were also conditioned to act within social constraints to be aggressive, unemotional and strong. Women were seen as passive, weak and irrational, even mad.

Feminism argues that these gender differences were socially constructed and therefore could be changed. Liberal feminists fought for, amongst others, women's right to vote, and equal opportunities in education and the workplace. Their progress was slow at first but they were eventually successful in achieving the vote (UK, 1928), divorce (UK, 1969), the equal pay act (UK, 1970). However, it does not follow that legislation promotes social change. Radical feminists argued that the subordination of women still existed on a social level: men, through various mechanisms of patriarchy such as the threat or actual act of violence, could still dominate women. Radical feminists concentrated on the more personal aspects of women's oppression; the exploitation of women in pornography, domestic violence and sexual abuse amongst others. Through their campaigns, this branch of feminism aimed to change the mindset of women suffering patriarchal abuse and to reveal the dirt' that was swept under the rug years ago to public attention. Their campaigns led to the establishments of women's refuges, rape counselling services and women only centres offering them safety, advice and access to employment and education.

The combined feminist ideology that women no longer had to put up and shut up', that they were not mentally or physically inferior to men and that they were armed with legislation giving them equal, legal rights in education, work and marriage. This was this patriarchy's greatest challenge.

Women found their voices; they gained the right to write. They could express their opinions and emotions without fear of repercussion, being

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