From patriarchy to composite gender arrangements? Theorizing the historicity of social relations of gender

Abstract

While the concept of patriarchy is useful to describe gender as a power relation that shapes social reality, it becomes problematic when it defines gender as structural male dominance irrespective of historical changes. The concept of “gender arrangement” instead defines patriarchy as a specific kind of historical gender arrangement, where the asymmetry between masculinity and femininity is considered both legitimate and necessary. From this combinatory model, this article explores the growing contemporary contradictions of gender asymmetry. In both the Global North and the Global South, these tensions lead to composite gender arrangements, from patriarchy in crisis to post-patriarchy in crisis.