The Reframing
gateway to a new knowing
.
The Lie of Patriarchy
Patriarchy is
…not natural.
…the template for all forms of oppression and exploitation.
…exhausting to all parties.
…upheld by violence.
The only “reason” we accept the lie of patriarchy is the same reason an abused child thinks they deserve to get hit. It’s all we know.
In the natural world, symbiotic balance is fundamental. Yes, there are predators and prey and violent death. But the ecosystem collapses when habitats and their inhabitants get out of balance. All creatures drink at the watering hole.
Patriarchy relies on violence and privilege to twist the natural order. Violence is the stick; privilege, the carrot.
Control by stick and carrot extends the scope of power. For example, to enjoy reflected privilege of the dominant class, white women (and light-skinned nonwhite people) willingly support subordination of dark-skinned people.
So patriarchy is the root of racism as well as sexism. Homophobia too, because the patriarchal relationship model requires fixed role-based dominance and subordination. Gay relationships confuse gender norms. Who can tell who’s on top? Lesbians prove the feasibility of life without a man. Trans people mess entirely with gender schema.
Two main pillars hold up the platform: segregation and hierarchy.
• Segregation facilitates unequal treatment while accentuating difference and deepening otherness.
• Hierarchy establishes dominance and subordination as the norm for relationships.
To dismantle sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and exploitation destabilize these pillars of patriarchy; segregation and hierarchy.
What you can do:
• Scramble and blur normative markers of gender, race, and class
• Have fun
• Make friends across demographic groups
• Interact respectfully on a peer-to-peer basis with everyone
• Feel your own feelings, think your own thoughts, live your own beautiful life.
The Reframing 