The patriarchy is alive and referenced in pop culture daily. The patriarchy, which is a social system in which men hold primary power, has been perennially deleterious to society. R. Kelly and his subservient fans portray an ominous depiction of the patriarchy, Taylor Swift calls out the hypocrisy from ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, singing, “Fuck the Patriarchy,” Cara Delevingne fights controversy after flaunting her Dior Met Gala attire displaying “Peg the Patriarchy” on her vest, and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas calls out sexist news outlets.

R. Kelly

American singer, R. Kelly, had accusations for over 25 years until recently. On September 27th, 2021, Kelly was found guilty on 9 counts: racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, sex trafficking, a violation of the Mann Act, and accusation charges of “federal child pornography and obstruction counts in Chicago.” Repulsively observing the years of abuse implemented on multiple women the question struck: why do people still support him and his career? Simple: the patriarchy. The patriarchy has empowered, encouraged, and funded destructive men like R. Kelly to thrive. To assume the patriarchy is non-existent is to assume pigs can fly. One of Kelly's first accusations, a sex tape with a minor, fell out in 2002; he sickeningly continued to make music for years following. R Kelly, a man, held power, moral authority, and social privilege… must I remind you of the definition of patriarchy: “a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men''.

Men are born into the patriarchy and quickly abjure the pros and cons of the social system, but fans of all genders are not any less of the problem, since continuing to support Kelly’s music essentially aids in funding him. More money, fame, and privilege would aid in keeping him out of prison. That is why Spotify, “in May 2018…removed R. Kelly's music from its official playlists” as they “said it wanted its "editorial decisions — what we choose to program — to reflect our values." Spotify as a company decided to not support a sex offender but, somehow, people are still having trouble hitting shuffle. The internalized misogyny displayed from such strong, beautiful women who listen to and enable R. Kelly is upsetting, but also just a part of the society that the patriarchy has built. The idea that men have power and they will always get their way or away with whatever they chose is deleterious to our growth as a society. People will be less likely to report acts of sexual violence and men will have a false impression of what manhood is if we keep believing that notion. Allowing and encouraging dangerous people to thrive will keep us forever stuck in the endless cycle of the patriarchy.

The patriarchy has brawled with Taylor Swift for years. The lyrics on All Too Well (allegedly about ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal) sing: “And you were tossing me the car keys, ‘fuck the patriarchy’ key chain on the ground.” Joe Hoeffer superbly threw light on the “irony, pointing out Gyllenhaal’s lack of self-awareness. He might declare his opposition to the patriarchy (performatively, via key chain,) but he still benefits from it. The patriarchy, for starters, is why it’s considered acceptable for a man to date a woman much younger and less mature than himself," like Gyllenhaal did. The patriarchy is embedded into our society. Gyllenhaal, a man of power, may not see “any hypocrisy at all;” while Swift endures the consequences of the patriarchy daily. Gyllenhaal used his social power to exploit Swift without consequence; Swift took power back and spoke up in song. Likewise, Cara Delegvigne, who has been in a misogynistic industry of modeling, can “fight back against the patriarchal forces that once controlled her” with her Met gala attire, a white Dior vest with a “simple slogan in red: “Peg the Patriarchy.” Although we can not hide away Delegvigne and Swift’s very white “girl-clubby feminism” Jill Filipovic touches on, it is a step in the right direction.

Delevigne took a heap of controversy after her Met Gala appearance. Dior and Delevigne’s statement, "Peg the Patriarchy", originated from a black, queer educator named Luna Matatas; Matatas told Instagram, “to her,...“peg the patriarchy” means “subverting a system of oppression that impacts all genders and is upheld by the behaviors and ideas of [white] colonial masculinity,” and she “only talks about pegging in a metaphorical sense, to denote the subversion of a gendered power dynamic.”

Although the patriarchy has most benefits to men, we can not diminish the determits. Talking about the patriarchy should not result in jaws about tearing down men; Matatas explains perfectly that this “impacts all genders.” The patriarchy is perennially affecting everyone and public figures like Taylor Swift and Cara Delevigne speak up to start conversation and diminish untrue idealizations like so. The patriarchy allows women to be undermined by men. Priyanka Chopra-Jonas has a very successful life. “Chopra is the first South Asian woman to lead the cast of an American television show - Quantico - and has featured in many Hollywood projects," she has won Miss World, is in over 70 films, and is “involved in issues like education, hunger, and equal rights for women.” While filing for the movie, The Matrix Resurrections, an online publication referred to her as “the wife of Nick Jonas” and Chopra did not hold back. Chopra responded in an Instagram story: “Very interesting that I’m promoting one of the most iconic film franchises of all time and I’m still referenced as “the wife of…” “...Explain how this still happens to women?" The casual sexism Chopra-Jonas called out is yet another instance of the detriments the patriarchy has made.