Patriarchy (book)

In India, patriarchy disrupts women's lives. According to Geetha,[3] "Sexual violence has been blamed on a patriarchal backlash where the term 'patriarchy' is often synonymous with 'tradition'".[4] Feminism has a long tradition of examining the concept of patriarchy,[5] and the book attempts to demonstrate that the nature, effect, and meanings of male authority and power can only be understood through the idea of patriarchy.[6]

Patriarchy introduces readers to concepts in feminist theory involving patriarchy. According to Geetha, "The book does not propound a theory of patriarchy; rather, it points to those areas of reality and traditions of knowledge that we might need to draw upon to define patriarchy. It indicates the need for theory-making, and shows how this may be done. Its intent is fundamentally pedagogical and is a beginners' text to help the reader consider patriarchy in all its aspects".[7]

She describes how knowledge about patriarchy cannot be easily separated from the feminist desire to generate such knowledge:[8] "By understanding patriarchy, the notions of production and reproduction are important concepts". Geetha highlights unique aspects of Indian society, such as kinship structures and the caste system,[9] to better understand patriarchy. According to the author, "A woman's identity as a citizen and rights to equality are undercut by the fact of their gender".[1]

Geetha theorizes that patriarchal power "is not merely coercive ... Cultural and sexual norms constitute the everyday exercise of patriarchal power".[10] She also writes, "Sexuality is a crucial link between caste and gender, so that marriage and sexual rules are not only set by caste, but also the notions of right pleasure are defined by it."[11][12]

Patriarchy has been widely cited in books and papers about feminism and gender studies, especially relative to India,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] and has been used at the university level.

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