Which statement is true about patriarchy?

Which statement is true about patriarchy?

• A. It is a social system that favors females.
• B. It is a social system that favors males.
• C. It is a form of governance that ensures gender parity.
• D. It refers to the leadership of the elderly.

Answer: (B)

Patriarchy is a social arrangement where men hold primary power across key areas of society—political leadership, economic control, family authority, and social privileges. Because power and privileges are centered on men, it is accurate to say that patriarchy favors males. The other descriptions point to different concepts: a system that favors females would be matriarchy; a governance that ensures gender parity describes an egalitarian or gender-equal system, which patriarchy is not; and leadership by the elderly is a gerontocracy, a different form of rule altogether. Understanding patriarchy helps explain why historical patterns of inheritance, occupation, and political influence have often privileged men.

Patriarchy is a social arrangement where men hold primary power across key areas of society—political leadership, economic control, family authority, and social privileges. Because power and privileges are centered on men, it is accurate to say that patriarchy favors males. The other descriptions point to different concepts: a system that favors females would be matriarchy; a governance that ensures gender parity describes an egalitarian or gender-equal system, which patriarchy is not; and leadership by the elderly is a gerontocracy, a different form of rule altogether. Understanding patriarchy helps explain why historical patterns of inheritance, occupation, and political influence have often privileged men.