We Are A Domination-Oriented Culture

Here’s how we know, using Eisler’s scale of partnership and domination

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Not too long ago the American Psychological Association issued new guidelines for working with men and boys. They took 13 years to craft and relied on 40 years of research data. The guidelines take into account differing experiences of masculinity in America, including differences related to race or sexuality — but the overarching conclusion was still largely the same: “Traditional masculinity — marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression — is, on the whole, harmful.” It’s harmful to men and boys — and it’s harmful to everyone else as well.

This echoes research done by Equimundo, and other organizations seeking to both support men and reduce violence in our country. But above and beyond this identification of how being “a real man” is associated with dominance and aggression in our culture, there are other, somewhat subtler indicators that point to the US as a domination-oriented culture.

I’m going to go into those here and contrast them with what it means to be a partnership-oriented society — the other end of Dr. Riane Eisler’s scale. These terms may not mean what you assume they do at first glance, and since I’m planning to write more in the future about how we move in a partnership direction…