Emily Tubman and Patriarchy

Emily and Richard Tubman were part of the patriarchal system of plantation slavery. Allan Johnson, in his article, "Patriarchy, the System," defines patriarchy as "an arrangement of shared understandings and relationships that connect people to one another and something larger than themselves" (79). In the South, this "something" was slavery. Slavery fulfilled the definition of patriarchy in many ways: it was "male-dominated, male-identified, male-centered" and had the "core value of control and domination" (Johnson 84). Emily's participation in this system was beyond her control and so was her expected gender roles (wife, philanthropist, church attendee) in this system. In my next post, we will see how Emily defied the patriarchal system.

Sources:

Johnson, Allan. "Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us." Chapter 4. The Gender Knot. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1997. 75-92.