Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, and social
privilege. A patriarchal
society consists of a male-dominated power structure throughout organized
society and in individual relationships. Most contemporary societies are, in practice, patriarchal.
Patriarchy is associated with a set of ideas, a patriarchal
ideology that acts to explain and justify this dominance and attributes it to inherent natural differences between men and women.
Feminist theorists have expanded the
definition of patriarchal
society to describe a systemic bias against women, and most feminists saw that
oppression of women
… Read more came from the underlying bias of a patriarchal
society.
LGBTQ an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and
queer. It functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender. Other common variants also exist, such as
LGBTQIA+, with the I standing for "intersex" and A standing for "asexual" or "aromantic". Longer acronyms also exists, such as LGBTTQQIAAP (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, transsexual,
queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pansexual). Various flags represent specific identities within the
LGBT movement, from sexual or romantic orientations,
… Read more to gender identities or expressions, to sexual characteristics.
Gender roles are socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given
society considers appropriate for men and women.
Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity.
Gender roles influence a wide range of
human behavior, often including the clothing a person chooses, the profession a person pursues, and the personal relationships a person enters. Various groups, most notably the
feminist movements, have led efforts to change aspects of prevailing
gender roles that they believe are oppressive or inaccurate.
A symbol of the Women's Movement or
radical feminism, consisting of the astronomical and astrological symbol of the planet Venus, also known as a symbol of the Roman goddess Venus, and the clenched fist, a symbol of the 1960's and early 1970's "power" movements.