Patriarchy-a tool for men-women subjugation-an analysis of bell hooks' 'understanding patriarchy

Patriarchy can be defined as a social organisation manifested by the supremacy of the male members in the clan or family and dependant status of female members. The concept of patriarchy incorporates all the socio-political mechanisms which replicate and exert male dominance over women. Fixating on real and perceived biological differences between the two recognised sexes, men justify their domination on the basis of an alleged biological inferiority of women. There are different models of patriarchy at different times and in different cultures and places but the lower value given to women and their roles as compared to men and their roles, remains constant in all models. But interestingly, Bell Hooks’ essay ‘Understanding Patriarchy’ completely deconstructs this very neat binary between the male perpetrator and female victim. In this essay, Bell Hooks emphasises the need to focus on the core problem of patriarchy which affects all people irrespective of their genders. Patriarchy is a disease which infect both men and women.