Why Does Patriarchy Persist?

The election of an unabashedly patriarchal man as US President was a shock for many—despite decades of activism on gender inequalities and equal rights, how could it come to this? What is it about patriarchy that seems to make it so resilient and resistant to change? Undoubtedly it endures in part because some people benefit from the unequal advantages it confers. But is that enough to explain its stubborn persistence?

In this highly original and persuasively argued book, Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider put forward a different view: they argue that patriarchy persists because it serves a psychological function. By requiring us to sacrifice love for the sake of hierarchy, patriarchy protects us from the vulnerability of loving and becomes a defense against loss. Uncovering the powerful psychological mechanisms that underpin patriarchy, the authors show how forces beyond our awareness may be driving a politics that otherwise seems inexplicable.

• In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development
• Darkness Now Visible: Patriarchy's Resurgence and Feminist Resistance
• Joining the Resistance
• The Birth of Pleasure: A New Map of Love
• The Apology
• Whose Story Is This?: Old Conflicts, New Chapters
• When Boys Become Boys: Development, Relationships, and Masculinity
• The Little Book of Trauma Healing: When Violence Strikes and Community Is Threatened (Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding)
• Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism
• The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy, Resistance, and Democracy's Future