Definition of patriarchy - What it is, Meaning and Concept

When determining the etymological origin of the term patriarchy, we would have to say that it comes from the Greek.And it is that it is made up of two parts of that language: "homeland", which can be translated as "family or offspring" , and "archo", which is synonymous with "command".

Patriarchate is the territory of the jurisdiction of a patriarch , its dignity or how long this lasts.The concept is also used to appoint the authority or government of the patriarch.

This concept (patriarch), on the other hand, makes it possible to name the dignity of the bishops of certain churches, the founder of a religious order and some of the characters of the Old Testament who were heads of big families.

Patriarch is also the one who, by his age and wisdom, exercises authority in a collective or in a family .

Returning to the notion of patriarchy, we can say that, for sociology , it is a primitive social organization where authority is exercised by a male boss .This power extends to relatives of the same lineage.

In other words, a patriarchy is a system in which men dominate women . men exert an oppression on the members of the female gender, appropriating peaceful or violent means of its productive and reproductive force.

Since, in theory, this type of organization does not exist in modern western society, the notion of patriarchy is used to criticize and condemn those behaviors or policies of sexist dye.

However, despite that, we have to establish that in our days there is a culture that bets on the undisputed figure of a patriarch.We are referring to the gypsy culture, which gives that title to a man advanced in age He will exercise not only, by experience and wisdom, as the authority within his family but also within a certain group of people.

That honor given to him leads him to become the maximum responsible for the fulfillment of the different laws of the gypsy ethnic group and in charge of resolving the different disputes and conflicts that may arise between two or more families.

As a general rule, the gypsy patriarch is identified by his hat and his cane as well as by being accompanied by two or more people who will be in charge of watching over him.When applying the law of his culture, he will always have in It counts the most important values ​​of it, such as respect for the elderly, the important role of the family, the chastity of women, the need to fulfill the word that is given.And, in relation to the latter case , the most important thing that every gypsy has is precisely his word.

The sexual division of work (with women in charge of unpaid work, such as domestic chores, or low-wage jobs), lack of economic independence (men manage money), domestic violence and sexual harassment are issues linked to a certain type of patriarchy that still remains.