Patriarchy is a social system where men take and hold primary power in leadership roles, control property, and predominate in roles of social privilege; entitlement used to one’s personal benefit or the detriment of others with groups advantaged based on a variety of factors and, in this case, gender. Patriarchy has manifested itself in the social, legal, political, religious, and economic organization across cultures. Most contemporary societies are patriarchal even through their constitutions and, laws do not always explicitly define themselves to be so.

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