Social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line
Along with Papistry, one of four major models for church government: Rule by a supreme human leader ( CONTRAST: Congregational, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Papist, SEE: Polity )
Social organization characterized by the supremacy of the father in the family, the legal subordination of wives and children, and the tracing of descent through the male line
Most simply, partiarchy refers to a form of social organization in which a male (known as the patriarch) acts as head of the family/household, holding power over females and children Within feminist theory, the use of the term patriarchy has taken on great significance In particular, the term is used to emphasize the vast inequalities of power that exist in most societies today based, not on biological differences per se, but on the social and cultural differences that patriarchy enforces
Patriarchy is a system in which men have all or most of the power and importance in a society or group. The main cause of women's and children's oppression is patriarchy