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It's hard to overstate the massive
cultural impact of the Barbie movie

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Hi Barbie

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Hi Ken

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the film Enchanted audiences wowed critics

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sparked heated debates

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and made a truly obscene amount of money

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at the box office

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Barbie continues breaking records

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with over 1 billion dollars

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at the global box office

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it's an impressive cultural achievement

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especially considering that the film

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doubles as a feature-length commercial

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for a line of plastic dolls

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there was however one group

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who were decidedly unenthusiastic

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Despite all the bubbly pink fun

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the movie's become a target

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of some right-wing personalities

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they are preaching empowerment

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by making men look weak and dumb

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feminist diet tribe about the evils of

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the modern patriarchy

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It's a trojan horse to to teach girls

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daddy is really a dummy or

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domineering idiots

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It's feminist garbage and

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it's really about hating men

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And Ken is like stupid and unlikable

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This is an assault on not just Ken

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but all men

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If you've seen the movie

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you might be confused

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Because the Barbie script goes out of

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it's way to show Ken

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in a sympathetic light

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If anything the movie might be

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a little too sympathetic to Ken

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"I think I owe you an apology"

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"Huh?"
Now it's tempting to dismiss this

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clearly performative outrage

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as just another attempt to fan the flame

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of the culture war

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But there is something really poisonous

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under-pinning this backlash

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that I do think is worth taking seriously

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One word in particular

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seem to touch a nerve

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"Well I haven't seen Barbie yet,

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but I've seen people talking about

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the number of times they use

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the word patriarchy in it"

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"Feminism and the patriarchy

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and fighting it, and all that"

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"And actually to call it the patriarchy

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in the film that phrase is used many times"

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"If you take a shot every time

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Barbie says the word 'patriarchy',

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you will pass out before the movie ends"

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"As we learned that the use of word

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'patriarchy' no less than ten times

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in this film"

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"The patriarchy is a big part of this

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Barbie film"

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"The word is used endlessly in the movie

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even though most people

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even me actually has no idea that

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what 'patriarchy' really means"

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That is a truly staggering

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level of defensiveness especially

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coming from people who don't really

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seem to understand what the word

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even means

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while there are many legitimate criticisms

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of the Barbie movie's feminism

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or lack thereof

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this video essay is not going to

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address those questions

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instead we're going to use the movie

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as a sort of primary to help explain

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what patriarchy actually is

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what it isn't and how it ends up

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harming everyone including men

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"Watch your flank"

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to have any kind of

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productive conversation

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we have to get over that defensiveness

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that so many men feel whenever

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they they come across

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the word patriarchy

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"this is a real hornets nest in here"

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contrary to popular belief

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patriarchy is not a synonym for men

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nor is it a code word for masculinity

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and it certainly has nothing to do with

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hating men

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"yeah I am confused about that"

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General confusion about

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what patriarchy means is perhaps

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not surprising given that the word

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very rarely appears in popular media

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when the term has been used

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it's traditionally been as a joke

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to mock feminists or feminism

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"let's take off our brows and burn them

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in defiance of the misogynistic patriarchy"

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"you know what I think

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I have to meet Harvey

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but um maybe we can burn

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our underwear together later"

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"when the last time we had a conversation

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over 3 minutes it was about

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the patriarchal bias of

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the Mr Rogers show

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well with King Friday lording it

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over all the Lesser puppets

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what did I miss

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the oppressive patriarchal values

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that dictate our education" "good"

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It's only after the rise of the me too

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movement that we begin to see

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a shift in this pattern

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"stay out of it Courtney

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you stay out of it

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I'm dismantling the patriarchy this year

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and I'm not afraid to start with you"

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These days the word is most often

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written for snarky teenage characters

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"So you were Guided by Lon chivalry

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a tool of the patriarchy to extract

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my undying gratitude?"

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"mhm, you know

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most people just say thank you"

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it's meant to identify them as brash

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rebellious or naively idealistic

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though not necessarily wrong

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in their observations

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"I think marriage is

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just a patriarchal system designed to

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make women less autonomous

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you become your husband's property

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you have to bear his children

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you even have to take his name"

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hey didn't you say that prom was a

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a postcolonial patriarchal construct

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it is

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but we would go as a group

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as a form of protest

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hey hey ho ho

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patriarchy has got to go

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hey hey ho ho

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patriarchy has got to go"

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even in this new limited context

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the word is still delivered as a punch

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"I'm jus... I mean is that it?"

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and its meaning is left

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intentionally vague

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"it's called Little Women

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and it's about four sisters

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who overcome poverty and the patriarchy"

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"Nope, dolls"

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the lack of specificity guarantees that

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only those who are already in the know

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will get the joke

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"Down with the patriarchy"

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"Idiots ah"

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everyone else is left

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either bewildered or extremely threatened

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"why didn't Barbie tell

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me about patriarchy?"

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"Which to my understanding

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is where men and horses

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run everything"

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"I silver away"

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Sorry Ken but there are no horses involved

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although it does kind of make sense

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why he might think that.

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"that's not fair is it?"

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"It's the fault of the patriarchy"

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"also what is a patriarchy?"

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In its modern usage

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patriarchy refers to a type of society

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that's constructed to promote

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male power and authority

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in sociological terms it's what's called

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a social system rooted in

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four distinct principles

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a society is patriarchal to the degree

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that it's male-dominated male centered

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male identified and organized

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around an obsession with control

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we're going to go over

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what all of that means in detail

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but the important thing to remember

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about social systems is that

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we are not those systems

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and those systems are not us

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"Because Barbie land, is now Kenland"

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So in the Barbie movie

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The Kens have a coup

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and Implement patriarchy

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but the Kens as a group

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are not patriarchy itself

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"Here I'm just a dude"

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The Kens make patriarchy happen

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by doing it

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When they stop participating

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the social system effectively

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ceases to exist

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In the same way that we can describe

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a board game and its rules

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Without saying anything about the

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personality of the individual players

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so too can we talk about

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the system of patriarchy

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and how it works without condemning

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every individual man

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Now keep in mind that the Barbie movie

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focuses mostly on Straight White characters

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but patriarchy impacts people in

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different ways based on their sexuality

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race, class or geographical location

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"Is there a problem offices?"

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Moving forward in this video

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I'm going to be heavily borrowing

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from a book called the gender knot

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by sociologist Alan G Johnson

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Since the devil is in the details

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let's use Kenland

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"Kendom"

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"Kendom"

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"Kendomland"

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"Land of the"
"Land of the free of the men"

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"Right. Well, this place"

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Let's use Kendomland to help illustrate

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how patriarchy works

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"I shall seek my fortune there"
"Alright"

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The first characteristic of a patriarchal

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society is that it's male dominated

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this is relatively straightforward

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all it means is that positions of authority

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are generally reserved for men

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Basically when you look up in

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the various hierarchies of society

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you'll tend to see more and more men

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the Barbie movie gives us a vivid illustration

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of what male dominance looks like

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We are presented with a montage of images

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featuring powerful and important men

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It's notable that up until recently

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women have largely been

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excluded from these fields

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"I'll take a highlight level"

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"high paying job with influence, please"

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"Okay you'll need at least an NBA"

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Ken also learns an important lesson

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when he demands to be

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given a powerful position

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he has unceremoniously rejected

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"No I won't let you do"

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"just one appendectomy"

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"But I'm a man"

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"But not a doctor"

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"Please" "No"

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This is because male dominance

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does not mean that

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every individual man is powerful

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"I'm a man with no power"

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"does that make me a woman?"

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In fact most men living in patriarchy

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will never acquire

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a formal position of power

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"This is bad this is really bad"

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"What?"

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Instead they'll spend their entire lives

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laboring under the boot of

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other more powerful men

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"Are any women in charge?"

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Despite what this

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Mattel boardroom scene implies

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It's not impossible for a woman to

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ascend to the top in patriarchy

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It just means it'll be much much harder

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for women to gain and maintain power

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and she will be tokenized and regarded as

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a special exception to the rule

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"I love you guys"

288
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Unlike in the fantasy world of Barbie land

289
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there has never been

290
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a female president of the United States

291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"How come you're so amazing?"
"No comment"

292
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ah ha ha ha"

293
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But even when a woman eventually

294
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
does win that position

295
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it will not mean that patriarchy is over

296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because patriarchy is a dynamic

297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and resilient system

298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It has evolved and changed

299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
over the decades and indeed centuries

300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thanks to countless women who

301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
have fought hard for a few seats

302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at the table but the table

303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is still male-dominated

304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You guys are clearly"

305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"not doing patriarchy very well"

306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ha ha, no, we're uh"

307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"We're doing it well yeah"

308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"We're just uh hide it better now"

309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The second aspect of a patriarchal society

310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is that it's male centered

311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This simply means

312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that the focus of attention

313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is primarily on men and boys

314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and what they do

315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
one of the reasons Barbie land

316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is so visually startling is because

317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's a rare vision of

318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a female centered world

319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's something we almost never see

320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in Hollywood outside of

321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
cheesy Sci-Fi movies from the 1950s

322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Landing on an unknown planet"

323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"they are captured by long limb beauties"

324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"When they say take me to your leader"

325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"and they take them to a creature like this"

326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"you know they're on planet Venus"

327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Hi Barbie" "Yay space"

328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Barbie land the focus of attention

329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is naturally placed on the Barbies

330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and what they do

331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But after the coup the Kens immediately

332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
push the Barbies aside

333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and put themselves and masculinity

334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at the center of absolutely everything

335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Everything basically everything"

336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Exists to expand and elevate"

337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"the presence of men"

338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is an exaggerated reflection of

339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our own male centered world

340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
All you have to do is turn on the news or

341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or go to the movies and you'll be inundated

342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with endless stories centering men

343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"A symbol to the nation"

344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"a hero to the world"

345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"The Beacon of Hope shining up"

346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Obviously this doesn't mean that

347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
women are never centered under patriarchy

348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But when they are

349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's often framed as a woman's story

350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
rather than a human story

351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Barbie movie for example is

352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
very specifically a story about the

353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
gendered experience of being 
a woman in society

354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Anxiety, panic attacks 
and OCD sold separately"

355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can contrast that

356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with a movie like Oppenheimer

357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which is a story about becoming death

358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the destroyer of worlds

359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes this destroyer of worlds

360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
happens to be a man

361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But notice the story isn't focused on

362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the gendered experience of

363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
being a man in society

364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In fact all of Christopher Nolan's film

365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
center very important men

366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but none are about their gender

367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They are built as stories

368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
representative of the

369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
human experience (rit?) large

370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Greta Gerwig's movies on the other hand

371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all Center women and are

372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
very explicitly about being a woman

373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
trying to navigate a man's world

374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Very well" [Inaudible]

375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That's not a criticism of

376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
either director by the way

377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's just a stark illustration of

378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what male centered means

379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In patriarchy men are viewed as

380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the default for human and

381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Therefore experiences are framed as

382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
an exploration of the human condition

383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
While women's experiences are

384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
first and foremost framed as
being about womanhood

385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Okay"

386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Incidentally this deep-seated 
cultural expectation of male centrality

387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
helps explain the waves of 
backlash against any entertainment

388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that's made for a general audience 
but doesn't center men or masculinity

389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Male identification 
is a little more complicated

390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But it is a critical piece 
of the patriarchal puzzle

391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It means that core cultural ideas 
about what is considered

392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
good, desirable, preferable or normal
are culturally associated with how

393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we think about men, manhood and masculinity

394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this is why professions that elevate 
qualities like toughness, competitiveness

395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
strength, control, rationality 
and invulnerability are so highly valued

396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and highly paid in our society

397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Monsters"

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
While occupations that revolve around 
qualities thought of as feminine

399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like compassion,
sharing or caregiving tend to be

400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
systematically devalued and underfunded

401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You know Greg's in medicine too Larry"

402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Oh really what field?"

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Uh nursing"
[Laughter]

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the Barbie movie The Ken establish
an aggressively male identified society

405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They do this by stripping 
Barbie land of its feminine identity

406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and superimposing a version of hyper
masculinity that seems to have been

407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
lifted from 1980s action movies

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They replace all the pink furniture with
black leather recliners

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
drape everything in obnoxious 
cowboy motifs and litter the landscape

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with gym equipment and sporting gear

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Don't question it 
just roll with, tiny baby"

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"He call me baby?"

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But male identification goes
much deeper than Aesthetics

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when Ken decides to embrace patriarchy
his behavior shifts accordingly

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as he tries to project
male identified values

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You can stay if you want
as my bride wife or my long-term"

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"low commitment distance girlfriend"

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He buries self-doubt and hides 
his hurt feelings behind

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a layer of false bravado

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Bruski beer me?"

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I will not Bruski beer you"

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ha ha ha, that's fine"

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Under patriarchy the concept of leadership
and indeed power itself

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is closely identified with masculinity

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It follows then that all men are
socially elevated by default

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
while women and feminine things
are devalued and seen as inferior

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Oh you got fries with that?"

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"If I said you had a hot body
would you hold it?"

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Against this means that even men
who don't hold any institutional power

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
can still see themselves
as superior to women

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That point is underscored
when we seethat the Kens

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are generally inept at running Society

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Go face day drunk right now"
[Laughter]

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"(?)"

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They spend their time day drinking,
playing games, and goofing off

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Every night is boy's night"

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And yet they still see themselves 
as superior

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
simply by virtue of being men 
living in a patriarchy

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You're like I can't believe how great 
this place is"

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Kendom land all the Barbies 
are reduced to servants

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Where are my hungry boys who want snacks"

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But in the real world a small number of 
women can gain power

443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
even inside of male identified systems

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
However in order to do so they
must prove themselves worthy

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by appearing to be just as aggressive
competitive and even less emotional

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Than any man in that same position

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In other words even though they are women
they must adopt and perform

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
male identified patriarchal values

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The fourth and final feature of patriarchy
is an obsession with control

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as a core value around which social and 
personal life are organized

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Men maintain their privilege by 
controlling both women and other men

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who might threaten it

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Barbie movie downplays it 
but men's violence against women

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the everpresent threat thereof

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Give us a smile Blondie"

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is a critical element in maintaining 
patriarchal control

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I'm not getting any of that I feel
that can only be described as admired"

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"but not (?) and there's no 
undertone of violence"

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Mine very much has an 
undertone of violence"

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Control can also be achieved in other ways

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and since the Kens don't really 
understand violence

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they use coercion and manipulation
to control daily life in Barbie land

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"What is wrong with them?"

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"We just explain to them the immaculate
impeccable seamless gaunlet of logic"

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"that is patriarchy and they crumbled"

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not the Kens take over 
for every institution

467
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they also take control of the dream houses

468
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"This shall henceforth be known as 
Ken's Mojo Dojo Kasa house"

469
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and they manipulate the Barbies into 
embracing their new status

470
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as objectified servants

471
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Anyone need a Bruski beer?"

472
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"What are you doing? You're a doctor"

473
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I like being a helpful decoration

474
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The illusion of intellectual
and rational superiority

475
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is critical to enforcing the myth 
that men are in control of every situation

476
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Let me show you"
"Here let me show you"

477
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Here let us show you"

478
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and therefore deserve their 
privilege status

479
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Now you listen to me"

480
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is emblematic of how men 
in the real world

481
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
will often compensate for feelings of 
personal inadequacy

482
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by exercising extreme control
over those closest to them

483
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You are going to be home at 6:00 
every night"

484
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"and you are going to have dinner
ready on this table"

485
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Especially women and children

486
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"No"

487
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"[Singing] I don't want to push you around"

488
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Returning to the gender knot
men are assumed and expected

489
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to be in control at all times
to be unemotional except for anger and rage

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to present themselves as invulnerable,
autonomous, independent

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
logical, dispassionate,
knowledgeable, always right

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and in command of every situation
especially those involving women

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Laughter]
"Who are you texting?"

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Huh?"
"Who are you texting?"

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"No one"
"hmm let me just"

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ken"

497
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This obsession with control is
so strong in our culture that any man

498
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who is perceived as not exerting enough
control over women

499
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is likely to be ridiculed as 
pussy whipped packed

500
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or tethered to the old balling chain

501
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Notice that there are no equivalent 
derogatory terms for men

502
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Who do control women
only for men who don't

503
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The obsession with control manifests
in countless ways, big and small.

504
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"We would love it, if you could just
get into that giant box."

505
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But, control over women, their bodies
and their sexuality

506
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is a core tenant under patriarchy

507
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Get in the box! you Jezebel"

508
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Recall that the Kens take control
of the government

509
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and use its power to actively exclude
the Barbies from civic life

510
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"That's right. In just 48 hours 
all the Kens will head to the polls"

511
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"and vote to change the Constitution to 
a government for the Kens of the Kens,"

512
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"and by the Kens!"

513
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Since these are children's toys
the Barbies can't reproduce

514
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Well, aside from Midge that one time

515
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But, the rest of the Barbies
can't have babies

516
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but if they could the Kens
would have no doubt

517
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
curtailed their reproductive rights
just like in the real world

518
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The social system I've just described
is very obviously oppressive to women

519
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But while patriarchy definitely benefits men 
it's paradoxically a poison chalice

520
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because it robs men of their full humanity

521
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Okay here's the deal:
it's not just about how they see us"

522
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"it's about how they see themselves"

523
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We only have time to scratch the surface
on this topic

524
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But embedded in Ken's story,
we can find a few hints

525
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as to how patriarchy ends up harming men

526
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Even though Hollywood loves to play on
themes of a war between the genders

527
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that framing misses a critical point

528
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because patriarchy is not
a competition between men and women

529
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Rather, it's an endless competition
for dominance

530
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
wherein men are pitted against each other
for a place in what RW Connell calls:

531
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the hierarchy of masculinities

532
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The white heterosexual hyper
masculine ideal

533
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is at the top of the hierarchy

534
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
All other forms of manhood especially
those in any way associated with

535
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
homosexuality or femininity
are pushed further down on the hierarchy

536
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"When you're slapped you'll
take it and like it"

537
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Recall that when the Kens go to war
it isn't against the Barbies

538
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it's against the other Kens

539
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"We go to war"
"Against the Barbies?"

540
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"No, against the Kens"
"But we are the Kens"

541
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"The other Kens"

542
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Up until this point, I've been mining
the Barbies movie to illustrate

543
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how patriarchy works

544
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But the usefulness of the film's narrative
is limited

545
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
especially when it comes to
male competition

546
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Oh ha ha ha, looks this beach is a little
too much beach for you, Ken"

547
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"If I wasn't severely injured,
I would beat you off right now, Ken"

548
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
" I'll beat you up with you any day, Ken"

549
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You may remember for example,
that long before they ever discover

550
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what patriarchy even is, Ken and Ken are
engaged in a bitter competition

551
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
over control of Barbie's
time and attention

552
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You can't do a flip like that' Ken"

553
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is where the Barbies script
is perhaps

554
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a little too clever for its own good

555
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because it's many overlapping
metaphors and allegories

556
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
leave us with some mixed messages
about the Kens

557
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the rivalry between the Kens
may work as a sort of gender flipped

558
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
commentary on how women are taught
to seek validation through male attention

559
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I only exist within 
the warmth of your gaze"

560
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is less successful however as part of 
the film's larger critique of patriarchy

561
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because the Ken's competitive rivalry 
carries with it some uncomfortable

562
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
echoes of male (entitl?)

563
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I bet you're scared and 
I bet she doesn't even wanted to go"

564
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And that behavior is not attributed to
patriarchy in the first half of the movie

565
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which is confusing because it
definitely should be

566
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Hi, Barbie"
[grunt]

567
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Hi, Ken"
"Hi, Ken"

568
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The thing about being obsessed
with control

569
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is that it traps men in a cycle of fear

570
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Hi, Barbie"
"Hi, Ken"

571
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The more men value control,
the more they're afraid of losing it

572
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This leaves men riddled with anxiety
about not measuring up to other men

573
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which means they can never truly feel
secure in their own masculinity

574
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I made a double bet with Ken and you can't
make me look uncool in front of other Ken"

575
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ken's not cool"
"He is to me"

576
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the movie the patriarchal battle
for dominance

577
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
culminates in an absurdest dream ballet

578
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but in reality the consequences
can be deadly serious

579
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Most violence in the real world
is perpetrated by men against other men

580
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This Grim reality is part of why the
Barbie's plan to overthrow patriarchy

581
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by tricking the Kens into fighting
each other is so wildly misguided

582
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"You play on their egos and their
petty jealousies"

583
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"and you turn them against each other"

584
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
While the scene is undoubtedly funny
and the song choice, absolutely perfect

585
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
aggressive competitive male behavior is
a core feature of patriarchy

586
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not a bug that can be exploited

587
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"And now they destroy themselves"

588
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And for the record, men's violence
is definitely not something

589
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that women manipulate men into doing

590
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Something else the movie doesn't show
is how the enormous pressures patriarchy

591
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
places on men can lead to self harm

592
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Either directly or indirectly through
addiction and other risky behaviors

593
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The prohibition on expressing vulnerability
compounds the problem

594
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by making it difficult if not impossible
for men to ask for help

595
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or build emotional support networks

596
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ken?"
"Oh, hey Barbie"

597
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Hi"
"How much of that did you see?"

598
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Of course all people need love,
intimacy and nurture

599
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But since patriarchy devalues caregiving
and labels it as feminine

600
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
many men feel compelled to sacrifice
their emotional sides

601
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in order to preserve 
their identity as real men

602
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As a result, many guys, especially
straight guys

603
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
falsely believe that women are
somehow responsible

604
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Oh, but I don't want you here"
"Is it Ken?"

605
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Ken's just a really good friend"

606
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Goodnight"

607
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That being rejected is tantamount to
women holding emotional intimacy hostage

608
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when in reality it's not women
but patriarchy

609
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that's blocking men's access to
emotional and physical intimacy

610
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So when Barbie refuses Ken's advances
he becomes resentful

611
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he lashes out

612
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"No you failed me"

613
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And he ends up harming everyone
including himself

614
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[Cry]

615
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Don't look at me"

616
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In her excellent book: The Will to
Change

617
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Bell Hooks doesn't mince words when
describing what happens to men

618
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
inside of patriarchy

619
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Teaching boys to despise their
vulnerability is one way to socialize them"

620
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"to engage in self-inflicted soul murder"

621
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's no wonder then that Ken isn't really
happy living in patriarchy

622
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In fact in Kendom land he was even further
alienated from Barbie

623
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
From his own feelings and
from the other Kens

624
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Part of this interview with Julia Fox

625
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where she's hooked up to
a polygraph machine

626
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
became a viral meme on Tik Tok

627
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I hate the patriarchy there's
a lot of really good men"

628
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Answer the question"
"Do I hate men? No"

629
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"That's a lie"

630
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The viral audio snippet stopped there

631
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But when we play the rest of it her answer
is Illuminating and nuanced

632
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"There's a lot of men that benefit from
the systemic oppression of women"

633
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"In our culture and society 
and religions and I do wish that"

634
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"more men could stand up for us"

635
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She explains that she obviously does
not hate all individual men

636
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What she hates is the fact that most men 
do absolutely nothing

637
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to help end the oppression of women

638
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So what can men do to make a difference
in ending this system?

639
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"The Kens"
"They found us"

640
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Let's use Allan as our proxy for this
part of the discussion

641
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
since he's the only guy who joins
the Barbies' revolution

642
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Well, aside from these two brief cameos

643
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Sugar daddy?"
"No no no no, I'm not a sugar daddy"

644
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"This is sugar and I'm her daddy"
"And I have an earring, a magic earring"

645
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Notice that all three of these
characters are queer coded

646
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and despite being men, 
they're marginalized

647
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the hierarchy of masculinities

648
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Allan in particular, embodies a bunch of
common mistakes

649
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that men make when trying to disentangle
themselves from the system of patriarchy

650
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The first thing Allan does is nothing

651
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He is a bystander who is nonetheless
still afforded

652
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a measure of privilege in Kendom Land

653
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that the Barbies are not

654
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"And Alan likes to help me give
all the Kens foot massages"

655
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"No, I don't, I don't like that"

656
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"We love it"

657
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Like some men in the real world,
Alan might not be actively or consciously

658
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
participating in the oppression of women

659
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but he doesn't speak out against it either

660
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The next thing Allan does is
try to escape

661
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As soon as he spies a way out for himself,
he tries to take it

662
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"How are you?"

663
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I'm Allan.
Don't tell the Ken I'm trying to escape"

664
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I cannot sit on one more leather couch
it's going to break my spirit"

665
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The problem is man can't just
opt out of patriarchy

666
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because it's been woven into the very
fabric of our whole society

667
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"What, what do we do?"

668
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Just get in the car and keep it singing"

669
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The next thing Allan tries is to engage
in displays of chivalrous violence

670
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
After learning the extent of the
injustice women face

671
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
some men try to distance themselves
from the problem

672
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and from any personal culpability
by going after particularly, bad men

673
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But, patriarchy isn't a person

674
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and you can't punch a a social system
in the face

675
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as much as you might want to

676
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Guess what happened?"

677
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I, I got into a fight I'm fine but I..."

678
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I think we solved feminism"

679
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Yeah! once and for all"

680
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"It was just like a a total melee,
like on the news"

681
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And most of the time men lashing
out in violence isn't helpful

682
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as it simply replicates
the core values of patriarchy

683
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Allan fumbles around for a while but
eventually he joins the Barbies' revolution

684
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Notably though, Allan never tries to
confront the Kens

685
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
about what they're doing

686
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And that's unfortunate because
the most important thing

687
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
men can do is challenge
other men on their behavior

688
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and encourage them to rebel 
against patriarchal expectations

689
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Despite all the harm it does to women
and to men's well-being

690
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the system of patriarchy remains
invisible to most people

691
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the Barbie movie for all its flaws,
makes it visible

692
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is I'd argue at the root of why
so many right-wing pundits

693
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Were so extremely threatened
by this cartoony fantasy land

694
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not only does the film acknowledge
the existence of patriarchy

695
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it dares to suggest that it's not a
natural or inevitable institution

696
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And in doing so it lays bare the
fundamental truth about all social systems

697
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they can be dismantled

698
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"No Barbie or Ken should be
living in the shadows"

699
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Or Allan"

700
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Choosing to confront such an
entrenched system

701
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
can be risky for men and
extremely dangerous for women

702
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Nonetheless, all over the world women
are challenging patriarchy

703
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like never before in modern history

704
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And the reality is that every day
more and more men

705
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are choosing to stand with those women
to join the struggle for liberation

706
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and to reclaim their full humanity

707
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Thank you"

708
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thanks for watching

709
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If you like these kind of llong form
video essays

710
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
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to help back our project there

711
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I've also left a link to Paypal in
the description below

712
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if you prefer that

713
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Uh, these videos are 100% funded by
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714
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There are no ads and
no corporate sponsorships

715
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so anything you can do to help out
is much appreciated

716
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I have a whole bunch 
of other videos in the works

717
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
including one on the myth
of the alpha male

718
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
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male characters in Hollywood

719
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
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and colonialism

720
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So if you'd like to see any of those
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721
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
leave a like, all the jazz

722
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
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