Patriarchal ideas affect everyone, including men

Patriarchy, a noun defined as a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line or a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. 

You might be thinking, everyone knows what the patriarchy is, why did you just give me the dictionary definitions. 

Well dearest reader, I also thought that everyone knew and acknowledged what the patriarchy is. 

But with the same amount of certainty that of a drought in the Midwest, there are always people who refuse to see simple truths. 

Recently I’ve been seeing more talk about men’s issues. Which is a good thing, they deserve attention and help too. 

However, I’ve seen just a few too many people deciding that because men have issues the patriarchy can’t exist or that women don’t actually face the issues they claim or that it can’t be that big of a deal. 

Basically claiming that for the patriarchy to exist men can’t have problems. That’s not what the patriarchy is. Although, the patriarchy suppresses women, when it does that it affects everyone. 

Men might experience issues with mental health but feel that because ‘men are supposed to be strong’ they aren’t allowed to ask for help or feel bad. This is also because of societal standards created from having a patriarchy. 

So, not only does the patriarchy hurt women, it also creates issues with men.

 So, while feminism remains a word that is just a little bit taboo, it might not hurt for everyone to partake in it. 

Feminism isn’t to make women more powerful than men, it’s to equal the playing field. Men take a small step down and women take a small step up. 

Men are allowed to feel things and do things that are traditionally thought of as only things for women, and women are allowed to actually express themselves without being made fun of. And those things are thought of taboo for men because of the patriarchy. 

So, lets stop fighting about whose cut hurts more and start taking care of each other.

Sometimes one big issue creates a ton of small issues for more than one type of person. And although it’s been the rallying cry for girls for many years, it might be time for men to join and say, “F*** the patriarchy”.