ADAPTIVE PATRIARCHY AND WOMEN’S POLITICAL SUBJECTIVITY

Does patriarchy still exist? In 2011 the “Inter-university working group on women’s political subjectivity” began its trajectory of study and analysis beginning from this question and the ensuing reflection on whether or not complex contemporary societies retain a patriarchal structure. Patriarchy seems to have become softer, more seductive and persuasive only in terms of rhetoric: in reality, it has maintained all its most grim and violent features. Rather than disappearing, patriarchy appears to have honed its skills and strategies of adaptation in relation to continuously and rapidly evolving contemporary contexts. “Adaptive” patriarchy thus functions as a system capable of continuously and swiftly repositioning mechanisms and rhetorics of domination and control over women. From this perspective, the rhetoric of choice appears to be an expression of the adaptive character of patriarchy: a model of femininity that is actually not so different than the stereotypes of the past has successfully established itself as something new, silencing anyone who does not intend to adopt this model.