Firstly, let me state what patriarchy is NOT. It is not men. It is not boys. It is, rather, a system that is male-centered in which both sexes participate, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly. Patriarchal societies are organized in terms of the experience of men as they have been able to define and elaborate on it. Patriarchal religions, of which Christianity is one, gives us a God that is like a man, a God presented and discussed exclusively in male imagery, which legitimizes and seals male power. It is the intention to dominate, even if the intention to dominate is nowhere visible. (Here and throughout I quote Drs. Gerda Lerner and Carol Lee Flinders, and Simone de Beauvoir and Gloria Steinem. All references and sources are on your hand-outs.) Another term, which is less charged, is ‘Andocentric,’ but I am joyously an uppity Sicilian Hillbilly and I’ll stick with patriarchy, thank you very much. It is my pleasure to make you slightly uncomfortable. – Ashley Judd (1968- )