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What is Patriarchy? One starting point for thinking about feminist activity is coming to a consensus about what the term "patriarchy" means. A useful definition is provided by Chris Weedon. ''pA TRIARCHAL REFERS TO POWER RELATIONS IN WHICH WOMEN's INTERESTS ARE SUBORDINATED TO THE INTERESTS OF MEN. " }\~· .'., . . 1 .• · , . "THESE POWER RELATIONS TAKE ON MANY FORMS, FROM THE SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR AND THE SOCIAL ORGANIZA TJON OF PROCREA TJON TO THE INTERNALIZED NORMS OF FEMININITY BY WHICH WE LIVE. ,, ''pATRIARCHAL POWER RESTS ON SOCIAL GIVEN TO BIOLOGICAL SEXUAL ,-, DIFFERENCE. " The term "feminism" came into English usage around the 1890s, but I women's conscious struggle to resist discrimination and sexist oppression 4 goes much further back.
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Biology is Destiny As early as the 4th century BC, Aristotle (384-322 BC) declared that "women were women by virtue of a certain lack of qualities". His predecessor the Greek historian and army general Thucydides (c. 460-400 BC) had some advice for women. IT IS A GREAT Early thinking about the difference between women and men was based on essentialist ideas about gender which maintained that women's and men's differences are a result of biology. The belief that biology is destiny suggests that, in comparable situations, men exhibit "masculine" psychological traits such as aggressiveness, rationality and assertiveness, whereas women will exhibit "feminine" traits such as gentleness, intuitiveness and sensitivity. These differences, it was believed, translated into particular patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour specific to I each gender. 5

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What is Patriarchy? One starting point for thinking about feminist activity is coming to a consensus about what the term "patriarchy" means. A useful definition is provided by Chris Weedon.

''pA TRIARCHAL REFERS TO POWER RELATIONS IN WHICH WOMEN's INTERESTS

ARE SUBORDINATED TO THE

INTERESTS OF MEN. "

}\~· .'., . . 1 .• · , .

"THESE POWER RELATIONS TAKE ON MANY FORMS, FROM THE SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR AND THE SOCIAL ORGANIZA TJON OF PROCREA TJON TO THE INTERNALIZED

NORMS OF FEMININITY BY

WHICH WE LIVE. ,,

''pATRIARCHAL POWER RESTS ON SOCIAL GIVEN TO BIOLOGICAL SEXUAL ,-,

DIFFERENCE. "

The term "feminism" came into English usage around the 1890s, but I women's conscious struggle to resist discrimination and sexist oppression 4 goes much further back.

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