Beyond Patriarchy: A Multidisciplinary Refutation of the Feminist Model of Male Aggression

Abstract:

The feminist thesis of patriarchy has long served as a dominant framework for interpreting gendered power structures and male aggression in society. However, emerging research across disciplines such as genetics, primatology, anthropology, and domestic violence studies challenges the reductive view of male behavior as a byproduct of patriarchal dominance. This treatise draws upon four key academic contributions—Skuse, Arsenau, Rogers, and Dutton & Nichols—to argue for a more complex, biologically and socially grounded understanding of aggression and gender dynamics, ultimately refuting the foundational claims of the feminist patriarchy model.

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Introduction

The patriarchal model has traditionally posited a unidirectional dynamic wherein men, as a collective, dominate women through systemic and structural power. Central to this framework is the belief that male aggression serves as both a symptom and tool of patriarchy. While this model has gained widespread acceptance within feminist theory, recent interdisciplinary scholarship suggests a far more intricate picture. This paper examines how genetic research, primate social behavior, anthropological structures, and domestic violence studies collectively destabilize the patriarchal thesis and point toward a multifactorial understanding of human aggression and gender relations.

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1. Skuse’s Biological/Genetic Perspective: Aggression Rooted in Female Genetics

David Skuse’s research, particularly his studies on Turner syndrome, provides a powerful challenge to the feminist conception of male aggression as a product of patriarchal socialization. Turner syndrome affects females who possess only one X chromosome (rather than two), and Skuse found a fascinating difference based on which parent the X chromosome was inherited from.

Females who inherited the maternal X chromosome (Xm) displayed reduced social cognition, lower empathy, and more aggressive behavioral patterns compared to those who inherited the paternal X chromosome (Xp), who tended to be more socially adept and empathetic.

This discovery has profound implications: it indicates that traits associated with aggression and reduced empathy may actually originate from the maternal X chromosome—that is, from the female genetic line, not the male. This stands in direct opposition to the feminist theory that views aggression as a predominantly male trait arising from patriarchal dominance or toxic masculinity.

Instead, Skuse’s findings suggest that female genetics may play a primary role in shaping aggression, undermining simplistic gender-essentialist and patriarchal models of behavior. Aggression is not exclusive to males nor a tool of male supremacy—it may be a biological legacy passed through women themselves.

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2. Female Social Influence and Behavioral Shaping in Primates: Arsenau’s Primatology

Research in primatology by Arsenau reveals that female primates, such as vervet monkeys, exert significant influence over male behavioral patterns, including aggression. These behaviors, shaped in part by female-driven socialization strategies, often serve reproductive and protective functions. Extrapolating to human society, this undermines the assumption that male aggression is a spontaneous manifestation of dominance. Instead, it supports a view of aggression as a socially mediated trait that evolves in response to complex group dynamics and adaptive pressures, many of which originate in female influence. This calls into question the feminized moral hierarchy implicit in the patriarchal framework.

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3. Gynocentrism and Informal Power Structures: Susan Rogers in her anthropological work critiques the patriarchal narrative by focusing on the gynocentric nature of many societies. According to Rogers, societal structures normally place women at the center of family and social life, and informal networks of power, largely dominated by women, serve to reinforce gynocentric values. She points out that these informal structures perpetuate male subordination in a way that benefits women.

Rogers refutes the feminist conception of patriarchy as a unidirectional system of male dominance. Instead, she suggests that power dynamics are more complex and may normally reflect a balance of interests between both genders, with women also exercising significant influence in society. This undermines the patriarchal model by showing that gender roles and power are not as rigidly defined as traditionally thought.

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4. The Myth of Male Violence Monopoly: Dutton and Nichols on Domestic Violence

Donald Dutton and Tonia Nichols’ research into domestic violence profoundly challenges the gendered assumptions embedded in feminist theory. Contrary to the dominant narrative that frames violence as predominantly male and patriarchal, their findings indicate a significant level of gender symmetry in perpetration and victimization. Domestic violence emerges as a complex phenomenon driven by emotional instability, situational stressors, and relational dynamics, not merely by institutionalized male control. This parity directly contradicts the claim that aggression is an inherently male trait utilized for patriarchal ends, and urges a more nuanced and equitable framework for understanding intimate violence.

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Synthesis: Toward a Post-Patriarchal Understanding of Aggression and Power

Taken together, the findings of Skuse, Arsenau, Rogers, and Dutton & Nichols form a multidisciplinary critique of the patriarchal model. Each discipline—genetics, primatology, anthropology, and psychology—illuminates aspects of human behavior and social organization that are incongruent with a strictly patriarchal framework:

1. "Skuse discredits biological determinism tied to male sex"

2. "Arsenau exposes the unidirectional conditioning of male aggression by females."

3. "Rogers reveals non-institutional female power structures"

4. "Dutton and Nichols deconstruct the male-perpetrator/female-victim binary"

Together, these perspectives argue for a re-evaluation of the patriarchal thesis in favor of a paradigm that recognizes the reciprocal, multidirectional, and contextually embedded nature of gendered behavior.