Patriarchy

Patriarchy describes a social system in which men hold most of the political, economic, and cultural power, and in which male authority is treated as the default. Feminist and queer thinkers argue that patriarchy does not only harm women. It also polices everyone into rigid gender roles and punishes anyone who steps outside them. From this view, homophobia and transphobia are tools that enforce male dominance and compulsory heterosexuality, treating queer and trans lives as threats to a system built on fixed roles. Because of this shared root, dismantling patriarchy is a central goal of queer feminist politics, which link the freedom to love and live authentically to the wider undoing of gendered power.