The classical and historical definition of Patriarchy and Machismo

This is my first text entirely in English.
So my text will be full of errors. Do not forget to comment and help me fix these errors ...

Actual meaning of machismo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machismo
Actual meaning of Patriarchy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchy



    Thanks to the work of Simone de Beauvoir and other feminists: Today we have a whole solid meaning to the Patriarchate. About being a man. Meaning with regard to discrimination, homophobia, violence, rape culture, oppression and even death. Meaning that there is up in dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Cool, right?
But what before that? What is the definition that the men had about masculinity? That the above definition that the men had about being a man?


Well ...
Long before the feminists come to say that all men are prejudiced, rapists and oppressors: There were men, there were civilizations and certainly humanity itself exists on millions of years. And the male view of the meaning of being a man is improving to at least three millenniums of recorded history.

Then I'll tell you a little story for you ...
Every civilization that has ever existed had his ideal of man. The complete picture of how a man should be in every area of a man's life. Virtues that were charged.
For example, a trader should be honest, smart, intelligent and a hard-working to survive. People need to trust him to buy and sell products. Honesty is thus charged for that man survives of their profession.

So, courage, determination and strength were mandatory in a warrior to be part of any army. Or those who did not have any of these qualities would be expelled. Well, all the civilizations that existed already had warriors, hunters, workers, religious and fathers of families. And many men were all at the same time.
Throughout human history the men was charged to have values and attitudes of courage, honesty, respect, humility, intelligence, wit, religion and a many other values that people forget when they talk about the ideal of man.

Each civilization had its heroes to inspire the masculine ideal that all men would like to be.
Each civilization had its own heroes to inspire every man and boy to understand the kind of person they wanted to be in life. Just as a child learns about responsibility and kindness with Spiderman. (Yeah, I quoted a current superhero that kids love)

Since ancient times the heroes were an ideal inspiring source of how to be a man.

Even words like patriarchy or machism (Machismo is used in Portuguese and spanish languages) has emerged in recent centuries, the notion of value to the heroic virtues ideal ran through the history of humanity and there is going strong for today. Inspiring people to the best possible example.

In fact, many classic heroes eventually became part of the very religiosity.

The heroes were true examples of masculinity whose stories taught courage, honor and to the example of sacrifice. The heroic examples of virtue were not only on adventures and sagas. Each religion also had legends of warriors who gave great examples of how human beings should follow in life. With heroes and heroines who besides virtues in battles also had religious and philosophical virtues of respect for others, love, family values and others.

Remember that many well-known heroes of today are just normal people who have done great deeds. Is the story of great righteous knights who risked their lives to help people in need, kings with great military achievements and even messianic figures.
St. George, King Solomon and Buddha are perfect examples of real people who have become examples that people have come forward.

From the example of the most pacifist until the invincible warrior, each person has an inspiring hero.
Be the example of religious martyrs like Jesus, military leaders such as Cesar or examples of great scholars like Da Vinci. All these heroic examples or not inspired and defined the behavior that men charged the men themselves ...

Detail: Not all the examples I gave were men or heterosexual.


In 1960 a group of hysterical that claimed to represent all women managed to crimp in our dictionaries and encyclopedias their own notions of terms like Machismo and patriarchy. Following definitions of themselves to generalize and try to define male behavior as wrong, violent, bigoted and oppressive. Machism and patriarchy as terms had been in use since the early twentieth century. But with the definition becoming "official"; Few dared to challenge feminists ...
    For over fifty years the definition of being a man became synonymous with prejudice and oppression against women. But what if I told you before, historically, men themselves defined what it was or not the values of being a real man?

Samurai Warriors
Before feminists try to define patriarchy, every civilization that ever lived had their own definition of how a man should be and behave. What values and virtues a man should learn and appreciate. And Japan is perhaps the greatest example of how a virtually isolated people defined the exemplary male behavior.

   To start talking of the samurai warriors, I'll start talking about their macho values!

   The Bushido, or "The Way of the Warrior", teaches seven virtues that every Bushi (warrior) must follow to have a life in peace and harmony with the world and with himself. These are:
GI: - Justice and Morality, direct attitude, right reason, decide without hesitation.
Yuu: - Courage, Bravery heroic.
JIN: - Compassion, Grace.
KING: - Politeness and Courtesy, Kindness.
MAKOTO: - Sincerity, Truthfulness full.
Meiyo: - Honor, Glory.
CHUUGI: - Duty and Loyalty.

The Warrior's Path starts already teaching values for men to be good persons in harmony with all people. Macho patriarchal values to form the character of men. And the Bushido code is the evidence that the definition of masculinity, patriarchy and machism has a strong connection with values and virtues.

seppuku
The dishonor of being a coward was equal to dishonor of being a criminal.
Suicide was then a form of supreme purification. Consisting of the guided ritual. To cut the very belly of left to right. With the viscera falling to the ground to show purity.
If it still remain forces in the samurai, he can still try to make a new cut from bottom to top.
The ritual is done so that the samurai feel as much pain as possible.
Receiving then the final blow: The Decapitation practiced by other samurai.
The whole process could easily last for hours.

This is because the Japanese society valued warriors whose virtues meant more than their own lives.

Women's rights

In the case of Japan, until 1867, we can certainly say that much of the entire Japanese population was enslaved. A process very different from what occurred in the Americas, but close to the European process. Where the landowners had farms or cities where allowed residents to live long as they pay tribute. Peasants had no political rights and although there were no currents: A feudal lord had the right to expel or kill anyone freely on their land. The rights could vary according to the laws imposed by the lords and varied rights to inheritance, companion of choice for marriage or divorce with the right to be sustained to not be entitled to anything.

Still, patriarchy always had space for women.

Onna-bugeisha - Women samurai
   In a society where the vast majority of women had to rely on husbands to have rights; we also have examples of women warriors botavam very grown man to shame.
   This because many of them also learned the Bushido and were prepared to defend their homes.
   Although they say that the girls had to stand aside at the time of the struggles of husbands, nothing indicates that these warriors ran out of support in the battle ...

   Female warriors had the same rights and duties of men.

   Tolerance to LGBT?
    Yes. Our samurai warriors learned to respect and have open minds.
    So much so that there was a wakashudo, the path of youth. Occurring when some old samurai who likes that fruit decides to adopt a new disciple...


The Hellenes

    Also known as Greeks, the inhabitants of ancient Greece consisted of several people with different cultures and religions that have just interacting with each other. And speaking of the ancient Hellenes we face directly with setting values and virtues that were taught and charged to the recognition of the value of men ...

    The value of a man was given for his courage, his honor, his loyalty and numerous other values and virtues that a man had. Values and virtues that a man carries both the battle and the hood keeps to his family. The definition of a man was linked directly both in culture and religion with virtues, values and positive attitudes.


This is sparta!!!
   I'll start speaking directly of the values and virtues that defined the ancient Greeks talking about the ancient warriors.
   Perhaps the best known today are the Spartans. But make no mistake, other cities/states also had a whole culture where the most valiant warriors were recognized with glory.

   From birth to death, a Spartan belonged to the state (not all slavery has chains) and were trained from the age of 7 in the arts of war. Spartan children lived walking bare foot to create resistance in the feet and spent whole years in the same outfit to learn to have weather resistance. As teenagers were in charge of security of the city where any citizen with over thirty years could watch and to beat them. Respecting the elders was basic. Many were left naked to 12 years on cliffs to learn to survive.

    Spartan training was done to transform the human being in a real killing machine.

Heroes that defined the exemplary male behavior!
Hercules
Hercules was the name adopted by Alcides to symbolize the change of life that this character has taken to forgive yourself for a lifetime of drinking, fighting and the moment of rage where he allowed the crime of killing his entire family. When retrieve the reason, Alcides begged for death, but the Oracle of Delphi established that Hercules should walk the path of virtue and perform 12 works for King Eurystheus.
The Hercules legend is a fable about the brutal man, too dangerous to be around other people and no virtue that ends up being placed in the path of wisdom and values.

Achilles was the greatest and most beautiful hero fighting in the Trojan war. It was regarded as the perfect and invincible warrior until an arrow killed him to simply hit his heel. A moral lesson about the fact that we all have a weakness.

Odysseus (Ulysses) was one of the smartest warriors to participate in the islanded, the war of Troy, but for vengeance of the gods was away from his home and his family. His odyssey is its long and tortuous back home facing great adventures and horrors.

philosophy
Ancient Greece is also known precisely by philosophy. His great thinkers who contributed significantly to all education and thought of mankind.
The philosophy also contributed significantly to the man of value setting according to their virtues and attitudes. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are names of sum importance to human thought.

Women's rights
Depending on the city, women had exactly the same rights. Being respected and having the same political rights. In cities like Sparta can definitely say that women had more rights than men. They could learn to fight in the army or hold any other office. There have been great philosophers, teachers, heroines and religions facing goddesses.

About sexual diversity?
Yes. Although we must recognize that yes there was discrimination against Cnaidos (or Conaidos), which were extremely effeminate homosexuals who refused to participate in war work.
But other than that, not soooo gay effeminate had all but equal rights. Heroes, philosophers, public figures and even gods could have perfectly healthy relationships.


The Vikings
The definition of values, virtues and attitudes that defined a man before the feminist "reinvent" the patriarchy and the machism.
   It is a great injustice that the word Viking has fallen on so many different people to try to generalize them. After all, the word Viking is used directly to define pirates bandits who liked to plunder towns, killing innocent and rape women . What does not apply to all people, much less to all men who lived among those who did that.

Well, to start reading, I'll be adding that the Nordic people were much more than just the Vikings. That each city could practically be considered as a different people from others with their culture and gods themselves. But also the interaction between the Nordic peoples created both the use of a common language as the religious view that all the gods interact. The interaction between these people so different created quite common cultural points.

And one of the points in common was the definition of how a man should be and behave to be cherished. That is, before the feminists want to come dictate what is patriarchy and machism, the Nordic people were already using their own cultural definitions to explain what it was a real man!

Before the feminists want to come to define patriarchy as something bad, men already defined for millennia as something good and beneficial.

   I'll start with some good examples of the values and virtues that were taught.

The 9 Noble Nordic Virtues
1 - COURAGE is to have dared to do the right thing, always;
2 - TRUTH is the availability of being honest, true and righteous;
3 - HONOR is sure to know its value and nobility;
4 - LOYALTY is will be loyal to their gods and goddesses, his people, his family and his own being, without restrictions;
5 - Discipline is the determination to be hard, first with himself and then, when necessary, with others;
6 - HOSPITALITY is the willingness to share what is yours with his fellow men, especially when they are away from home;
7 - EFFICIENCY is the determination to work hard and love what you do, always;
8 - self-sufficiency is the spirit of independence achieved not only for yourself but for your family, your clan, your tribe, your nation;
9 - Perseverance is the tenacity to persist.
"The superior man's virtues are like the wind, the virtues of a common man are like grass; when wind blows the grass bends. "

This is an ax Viking in the biased definition they have to the patriarchy. But let's continue.

From the cradle, children learned at home to fight and defend themselves. always with adult supervision. Even the girls. Children learned fighting with siblings or cousins to be able to defend themselves on the street. Although his company were mostly farmers and fishermen, always learned to defend against enemy invasions.

   Yes there were community centers that served both schools as celebration halls. Such places were to teach both the basics of writing, history and art of war as to teach values and virtues that help children to become responsible adults. Both religion and the war on lessons spoke directly about great heroes and great lessons of life.

   In adolescence, young people go out to practice a very common custom. Out on ships to sail and practice the trade. Yes, the activity that the Vikings practiced more than loot and plunder was trade. Any longship to leave home only to do business was in danger of being attacked two or three times on each trip. As the boats that left only to plunder cities ...

   In adult life, which could be determined both by age and by dead enemies, the young Viking acquired political rights, land and marriage. Or rather, he conquered these rights!

Women's rights
    The macho culture of the Vikings treated women with respect. Even the slaves. In fact, women could practice in wars, invasions or participating in defending the cities.
    With women as respectful as men and even winning the Viking funeral. Maximum proof of respect and esteem given to the heroes among men.

    Not only that, but as the war was a matter of choice for women, along with their husbands in raids yielded specific laws where rape was prohibited. So much for the warrior as any other woman captured by the Vikings. The viking rapist lost the right to marriage (divorce) and had to share their property with his ex-wife.

    The goddesses also had the same importance as the gods and could not be disregarded.

About sexual diversity?
Depending on the city, there were laws and permissions.
Despite the fact that homosexuals ended up becoming outcasts, still existed but where couples could live in peace. Homosexuals ended up being discriminated against because they have the not very masculine behavior to hate war. And when I say this is because any homosexual who participate in the battles beheading other warriors earned considerable respect!

Finishing
    To talk about machism and patriarchy, we must understand that each culture had its own definition of the values, virtues and attitudes that considered at the time to describe a man.
    And each culture defined masculinity with good values. Bringing values in time to teach about masculinity.