A Politics Done Right caller & supporter schooled the audience on the origin of the patriarchy and how we must fight it. She said Kamala Harris will break the glass ceiling.
Kamala Harris and the patriarchy
Podcasts (Video — Audio)
Summary:
In a passionate and insightful call, Peggy Lopez discusses the deep historical roots of patriarchy and its continuing influence in modern society. She highlights how patriarchal structures have shaped the family, legal systems, and workplaces while also reflecting on the fight for women’s rights and the role Kamala Harris plays in challenging this oppressive system. Peggy emphasizes the need for collective action across movements to dismantle patriarchy and other systems of oppression like racism, sexism, and homophobia.
- Patriarchy began with family structures where husbands had legal control over wives and children.
- The “rule of thumb” in England allowed men to beat their wives, a practice that was only fully addressed in U.S. law in 1994.
- Patriarchy extends beyond the family into business and politics, with men at the top of hierarchical structures.
- Kamala Harris threatens patriarchal power by breaking barriers and standing equal to her male counterparts.
- Peggy advocates for uniting movements like racial justice, feminism, and LGBTQ+ rights to dismantle patriarchal structures collectively.
Peggy’s commentary emphasizes the need for solidarity across social movements to dismantle patriarchal power structures that have oppressed marginalized groups for centuries. The call for intersectional activism, with figures like Kamala Harris leading the charge, is a hopeful vision for a more equitable and just society where outdated hierarchies are replaced with human connection and equality.
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The conversation around patriarchy is not new, but Peggy Lopez, in a recent call-in, eloquently laid bare its deep historical roots and persistent grasp on society. Her commentary, beginning with a reflection on the family structure as the simplest form of patriarchy, was a compelling reminder of how these power systems remain embedded in our institutions and personal lives. Peggy’s intervention is even more powerful because of her insight into how this oppressive system can be cracked open—and the hope she places in figures like Kamala Harris to accelerate that change.
At the core of Peggy’s argument lies the acknowledgment that the patriarchal family model has existed for millennia. The husband, as the head of the household, once held the legal right to dominate his wife and children, even to the extent of life and death. Such power dynamics, rooted in history, have only recently begun to shift. In England, for instance, the so-called “rule of thumb” allowed husbands to beat their wives as long as the stick used was no thicker than a thumb—a horrifying reminder of how normalized violence against women was. It wasn’t until 1994, with the Violence Against Women Act, that the United States made significant strides toward legally protecting women from domestic abuse.
These practices reveal how the patriarchy is not merely a cultural artifact but a legal framework built into the very bones of society. As Peggy aptly points out, patriarchy extends beyond the family—it infiltrates workplaces where male bosses hold power over male employees, creating a hierarchy that serves as the structural backbone of much of the world’s economy. This system of control, she argues, is what we are still fighting today.
Peggy’s analysis sheds light on the insidious ways patriarchy functions: not merely as an individual man’s control over his family but as a hierarchical, class-based system that permeates every corner of society. The powerful few—primarily men—sit at the top, controlling businesses, politics, and culture. It’s a deeply ingrained system that the patriarchy is fighting fiercely to preserve, especially in the face of growing challenges to its dominance.
One of those challenges, as Peggy highlights, is the candidacy of Kamala Harris, who represents a break from the patriarchal mold. Harris, a biracial woman, has navigated and overcome the patriarchal structures that have historically kept women, particularly women of color, from positions of power. Peggy notes that Harris doesn’t just exist within the system—she challenges it. She stands toe-to-toe with patriarchal figures and refuses to submit, embodying the feminist aspiration of equality in both symbol and substance.
Harris’s potential presidency is so significant because of her identity and what she symbolizes in the broader struggle against patriarchy. Peggy rightfully notes that Donald Trump represents the epitome of patriarchal power—a man who believes he should rule not only his family and business but the country as well. Trump’s appeal to a significant segment of Latino and Black male voters, Peggy argues, is rooted in their identification with the patriarchal model of power he champions. This connection to patriarchy, regardless of race or class, reflects the depth of its reach and the breadth of the struggle to dismantle it.
Yet, as Peggy articulates, the fight against patriarchy is not just about toppling individual figures but transforming the structures that allow patriarchy to survive. She refers to the work of Sonia Johnson, a former housewife who became a feminist activist after losing everything—her family, her community—because she dared to speak out in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Johnson’s story illustrates the personal cost of fighting the system and the importance of solidarity and collective action. Peggy suggests that Johnson’s realization—that fighting the patriarchy directly only strengthens it—points to the need for a different approach. Instead of targeting patriarchy alone, we must unite to combat the other pillars that uphold it: racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism.
One of the most insightful aspects of Peggy’s call is her observation of how social movements have evolved over the decades. In the 1960s and 70s, movements for women’s rights, civil rights, and workers’ rights often operated in silos, each focusing on its specific grievances. Today, however, movements like Black Lives Matter have broken down these barriers, creating a more interconnected and inclusive fight for justice. This unity, Peggy argues, is what makes the current struggle against patriarchy so powerful. The patriarchy, accustomed to dividing and conquering, finds itself unable to respond to this new wave of intersectional activism.
Kamala Harris’s role in this struggle is both symbolic and substantive. As Peggy notes, she has the potential to crack open the patriarchy in a way that no one has before. A biracial woman standing against a figure like Donald Trump represents a seismic shift in American politics and society. Harris’s mere presence on the ticket challenges the foundations of patriarchal power, and her victory would be a monumental step toward dismantling it.
Peggy’s call offers a profound reflection on the history and persistence of patriarchy and a hopeful vision for its future demise. She suggests that the key to defeating patriarchy lies not in fighting it directly but in building human connections across movements and identities. And in this struggle, Kamala Harris stands as a beacon of what is possible—a woman poised to shatter the patriarchal system and lead us toward a more just and equal society.
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