Article in the Journal of Academic Social Sciences · September 020 doi: 10. 29228/jasss. 45458 citations reads 4,242 author: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects
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| Social Hierarchies and Dualities
The dualistic concepts such as male/female, strong/weak, reason/emotion, mind/body or culture/nature play an active role in shaping gender roles in male-dominant societies. In this system, men have superior positions, and they represent culture, consciousness, intellect and power. However, women are inferior, and they represent the opposite characteristics such as nature, unconsciousness, body and weakness. Thus, men claim authority by obtaining these superior features and women become subordinate beings in male-dominant system. In other words, these hierarchies cause men's dominance over women. In this way, these hierarchies serve as vehicles to create a division between genders. That is, womanhood and manhood become completely opposite concepts in gender-based societies. For example, as women are perceived as inadequate beings, they are associated with inferiority. However, women’s biological system is another factor that causes their inferiority and subordination. Therefore, women stay at home, clean, cook and take care of the child. The system causes women to become dependent beings. As Simone De Beauvoir states, women have to be obedient, powerless, futile and passive (2011:402). Thus, they cannot acquire independent identities. They exist Yıldız Merve Öztürk 709 only as mothers, wives or daughters. On the other hand, men achieve dominance as they exist freely in the outer world. In addition to their personal identities, men also acquire social identities. Hence, men are powerful, autonomous and dominant. Therefore, by creating such a division, hierarchies polarize women and men. Huey-li Li also mentions that men and women are polarised in order to enhance men's hegemony, and women's "otherness" in the hierarchy (1993:288). Thus, while men are ultimately superior beings, women exist as “others”. They become indescribable without men. De Beauvoir mentions that women are nothing more than what men determine (2011:26). Women cannot have identity without men. Consequently, in patriarchal societies, while men are perceived as primary beings, women exist as secondary beings. Therefore, by creating a contrast between genders, the hierarchies put forward the hegemony of men and “otherness” of women. Although hierarchies and dualities are used to polarise genders, their main goal is not to create conflict between genders, but to ensure men's dominance. This specific factor is the main objective in the hierarchies in the male-centred system. As Val Plumwood remarks, superiority is the main objective, and it makes the subcategory to be objectified (2017:77). Thus, while the hierarchies provide dominance to the superior category, they also ensure the dependence of subcategory, because the independence of subcategory endangers the superiority of the male-dominance. Hence, in the male- centred societies, non-male beings which represent the inferior category exist as commodities. For example, the male-dominance categorizes the non-male beings similarly, and women and nature belong to the same subcategory in this system. By classifying them similarly, the system generalizes their dependency and causes their discrimination. Hence, while the hierarchies provide authority to men, they ostracize women and nature. That is, hierarchies affirm the exploitation of women and nature in order to give supremacy to men. Thus, women and nature cannot have unique features or be autonomous. In this way, the hierarchies demonstrate that achieving superiority is the main objective of the male-dominant hierarchies. However, they also lead to the marginalisation of women and nature. Therefore, the male-centred system uses hierarchies and dualistic concepts bring superiority to men while subduing non-males. Consequently, the hierarchies and dualities are the building blocks of male-centred societies as they ensure the continuity of the male-dominance. However, the male-dominance has also dependency on the women even if it claims to be superior. In other words, the superior category depends on the inferior category. Because the subcategory cannot be inferior without an upper category, and the upper category cannot achieve dominance without a subcategory. As Plumwood notifies, there cannot be a master without the slave (2017:72). Thus, man cannot achieve superiority without an opposite concept, like a woman. Also, culture cannot emerge without nature. Hence, the superiority of men is not significant without women since hierarchies cannot exist without two different creatures. Therefore, even though the men portray themselves as independent beings, they rely upon the inferiority of the non-male creatures. As Plumwood stresses, there must be a category of subordinate beings, and through them, the dominant group can be identified, and this leads to the constant state of hierarchical order (2017:73). In this case, non-male creatures do not only reinforce male-dominance, but they also ensure the existence of the hierarchical system by being an essential element of it. Thus, the contrast concepts complement each other. The male-dominant system becomes the centre, and non-male beings become attached to the centre. As a result, there is a close relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed which ensures hierarchical order in male-dominant system. tải về 497.42 Kb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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