In this module, we have examined how one of our most dominant ideologies, the American Dream of success and individual opportunity, obscures alternative narratives of racial inequity and a lack of equal opportunity. This exploration has encouraged us to think about how cultural stories are shaped– which narratives are accepted and circulated and which narratives are excluded? We have read two academic articles detailing accounts of historic and current discrimination against minority communities, particularly the black community, that challenges the dominant story of how individuals are able to achieve success in America. We have also examined artistic representations of cultural narratives, with artists creating powerful manifestations of what it means to live outside of the dominant ideology. These alternative narratives show us that our culture has a complex relationship with perceptions of truth– of which narratives become an accepted and celebrated part of our history, and which are considered to be alternative representations of events.
Part 1:
In this paper, I would like to continue with this work by examining a dominant ideology and an alternative narrative. You may continue to explore the one we have studied as a class (the American Dream of success and individual opportunity, and how the reality of racism challenges this story), or you can choose another commonly held socio-cultural narrative and an accompanying alternative or challenging story. You are welcome to explore any culture– you are not limited to just American society. You will want to consider the following questions as you analyze your chosen narratives:
How are cultural narratives shaped? How determines which stories are a part of our dominant culture? Who gets excluded from these narratives?
How does the construction of cultural narratives affect perceptions of truth– of which stories and version of events becomes an accepted and celebrated part of our history?
How does this construction perpetuate power structures within our society?
Why is one of your chosen narratives considered dominant, and one considered alternative? What does the alternative narrative expose about the accepted, dominant story?
What does it take for an alternative narrative to become a part of the dominant ideology? this is a very open ended assignment. Please choose narratives that are interesting and impactful for you! You are not required to write about the ones we have studied, though you are welcome to.
Part 2: (for part 2, just give an idea on what it should be)
I would like you to create an artistic representation of your alternative narrative (similar to the artistic representations we studied). You can create anything you want here that you feel represents the tension between the dominant and alternative narratives you are writing about. I’ve had students create collages, cartoons, paintings, write songs or poems, take photographs, etc. This is entirely open ended!
Requirements:
1500+ words (this is about 4-5 pages), double spaced
Times New Roman, size 12 font, 1” margins
A minimum of 3 sources (either from our course readings or your own research– they just need to be credible sources)
MLA formatting.
Patriarchal Ideology vs. Feminist Narrative
Societies have numerous competing narratives, some dominant, other alternatives that explain social realities. The ideologies are social constructs that are entrenched in society and transferred through generations to continue operating and affecting the lives of younger members. One of the dominant ideologies in most cultures worldwide is patriarchy, while matriarchy is an alternative and mostly ignored narrative. The dominant patriarchal ideology obscures the alternative narrative of matriarchy and gender issues that affect women and deny them opportunities in society. The narratives have helped to understand society’s structure and how cultural stories arise and are transferred to future generations. Cultures pass on narratives that are accepted as the norm in society and remain for generations. For example, patriarchal societies, such as Bangladesh, promote men’s place in society and exclude women, whose place is domestic. Although things have been changing for women in most communities, the patriarchal narratives remain in Bangladesh, which violates women’s rights and denies them similar opportunities as men.
Patriarchal Ideology
Patriarchy is one of the oldest ideologies that place men in an advantaged position over women in society. It is a social system that accepts the position of power for men and women’s inferior place. In political leadership, patriarchy assigns men predominant roles, social privilege, moral authority, and control over property ownership (Macionis 5). They are heads over women in their societies and determine various life outcomes for their females, such as marriage and property ownership. The ideology is founded on a set of ideas that support and rationalize men’s dominance attributes in society. Societies that subscribe to the ideology believe that men are inherently different from women, meaning that they should play different roles. The ideology is a socially-constructed product and not an outcome of innate differences between the two genders. However, it affects gender roles in societies that believe in male and female role differences (Malti-Douglas 33). For example, traditionally, while men would be free to seek paid employment, women were confined to the kitchen since they were believed to be a lesser gender whose place was in the kitchen and taking care of husbands and children.
Historically, patriarchy has been evident in various aspects of society, domestic and workplace, where men have used their dominant place and power to oppress women. The ideology existed in political, social, legal, religious, and economic organizations in different dimensions across cultures worldwide (Malti-Douglas 35). Although the ideology is not explicitly defined, with a set of laws or regulations, its existence has affected women’s opportunities and led to major oppression towards them since men have assumed the dominant position. Patriarchal societies view the man as the head of the society and with authority to make decisions that affect women and children in their families and communities. For example, in many patriarchal societies, women did not have the right to own property, even through it is through inheritance, and if they did, it would be controlled by adult males. Patriarchal social relations oppressed women and denied them any rights in society.
Alternative Narrative
The alternative narrative from the patriarchal ideology placed women as a “second class sex” and excluded women from public life. The social narrative names the man as the self, while “woman” is the “other” (Soedarwo 489). To achieve selfish interests, men tended to oppress the “other” and remain dominant in society. If the man wanted to be free, he subordinated women, leading to gender oppression and other challenges that faced women in society. The woman is always dominated by and subordinate to the man in all aspects of life. Through socialization and social construction, the woman internalized the idea that man is essential and held authority (Soedarwo 489). Some rationalized oppression and were prepared to accept the hostile treatment from the men in their lives. Furthermore, the relationship between men and women in society was defined by the unequal relationship between males and females.
In Bangladesh, the gendered ideology is constructed and reflected in various ways because the society maintained strong patriarchal attitudes. The ideology led to major issues affecting women, such as rigid segregation of gender roles, gender inequality, and male dominance. Societies that give dominance to masculine and subjugate the feminine in the household, labor market and community. Some of such societies have men who are violent and abusive towards women as a show of their power. Bangladeshi is a typical example of a patriarchal society that accepts male superiority in all aspects of life and as part of the natural way of doing things in families and communities (Sultana 123). As a result, women are relatively powerless at home and in the workplace if allowed to work. The society considers males as the economic producers and providers, while females are reproducers, whose work is to stay at home and depend on men. Men expect them to remain at home as wives and mothers.
In Bangladesh, men have great authority and power just because they are men. Society has taught them to believe that they are heads of families and have power and control over women in their communities. As a result, the alternative narrative emanates from the backdrop of ‘patriarchy’, which gives men the dominant place. While the relationship could be considered household, it permeates all aspects of the culture since even the ideology of women is affected by society’s patriarchal nature. The female gender ideology is limited by the patriarchal ideology that places the male ahead of every woman. One of the places where the ideology is evident is education, where society prioritizes the son’s education over the daughter’s education (Sultana 123). Furthermore, women are not expected to pursue challenging careers even with education or have top positions reserved for men.
Women in patriarchal societies remain outside the dominant ideology, which has resulted in major oppression and even violence. Both men and women have accepted the ideology, with minimal efforts to change the underlying narratives they accept as part of society and history. The cultural narrative is shaped by what members believe in and have passed from one generation to the next, making it difficult to challenge or change it. Since men have always been leaders in society, they have the opportunity to dominate and deny women a voice to fight for and defend their rights (Sultana 123). The ideology affects perceptions of the truth in the affected society. For example, women in Bangladesh and other patriarchal communities can easily allow the male child’s education at the expense of the female. The society has constructed and integrated the dominant ideology, leading to a distorted perception of the truth. The negative idea of truth affects how men and women act towards the dominant ideology and has made it impossible for women to defend their rights.
Attempts to Challenge Patriarchal Ideology
Feminist movements have attempted to change the dominant ideology and introduce an alternative feminist narrative strand. However, in most societies, the alternative narrative has failed since the dominant narrative has taken deep roots through socialization. Besides, women in many communities are unwilling to surrender the position of power and authority, in which women are marginalized beings (Ayub 31). Society expects women to remain in their assigned subordinate space of femininity and only excel in their allotted roles. In Bangladesh, for example, women who fight for a better place are considered rebellious, interestingly, even by some of their fellow women. Women are not expected to violate patriarchal norms as they will rebel against nature. The narrative entails a stereotype of women by the dominant patriarchal ideology. For example, women are not expected to have any rights and roles in bringing money to the home. Therefore, whenever they struggle to gain positions of power, society tends to condemn them.
The dominant power structures within a patriarchal society hinder women from progressing. The alternative narrative attempts to show the injustice and inequality that the dominant ideology presents in society but has been largely unsuccessful in most societies. Feminist movements have tried for years to fight for an equal place for women in society, such as the girl child’s education and the ability of women to gain political positions and leadership places in the workplace. Over time, there has been an increase in the number of women in political positions and working as managers, but the dominant ideology remains a limitation to their success (Ayub 32). The glass ceiling remains prevalent in many countries, such as Bangladesh, even as feminist movements continue to fight for women. Consequently, it becomes evident that for such societies. The alternative narrative might never become a part of the dominant ideology because of the mainstream narrative’s strength. The society does not expect women to deviate from the societal norm to fight for their rights.
Conclusion
Various dominant ideologies exist in a society that challenges any alternative narrative. The ideologies are socially constructed and passed down from one generation to another, with a serious impact on relationships, such as the gendered ones. One of the dominant ideologies in societies across the world, although in different magnitudes, is the patriarchal narrative. The ideology holds that men have a dominant place over women in society as nature has given them the marginalized group’s power and authority. Societies, such as Bangladesh, perpetuate the ideology, which permeates various aspects of life, socially, politically, and economically. Unfortunately, any prevailing attempts to challenge the dominant ideology through an alternative narrative, such as feminism, have failed to bear fruits. As a result, women remain the marginalized and disadvantaged group in society without much home to successfully challenge the prevailing ideology to make the alternative narrative dominant. However, feminists continue to fight for the rights of women, such as in education and employment.
Part 2
In the second part, I will create an artistic representation of the feminist ideology, my alternative narrative. My artistic representation will be a gender violence photograph to show the tension between the dominant and alternative narratives.
Works Cited
Ayub, Muhammad. “Unmasking the Alternative Micro Feminist Narratives in Anna Karenina: A Postmodernist-Deconstructive Perspective.” Global Social Sciences Review (GSSR) Vol. IV, No. IV, 2019, pp. 31 – 37
Macionis, John J. Sociology (13th ed.). Prentice Hall, 2012
Malti-Douglas, Fedwa. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Detroit: Macmillan, 2007.
Soedarwo, Vina Salviana Darvina. “Political ideology meaning and patriarchal ideology of female politicians in Indonesia: A case in Malang.” Procedia Environmental Sciences vol. 20, 2014, pp. 486-495.
Sultana, Alam M. “Patriarchy and women’s gender ideology: A socio-cultural perspective.” Journal of Social Sciences vol. 6, no.1, 2010, pp. 123-126.
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