WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
The gender-based violence prevention groups V-Day and A Call to Men have launched a competition calling on high school and college students to use their creative talents to Dismantle Patriarchy. The Dismantle Patriarchy Contest challenges young people to use visual art, music, essay, story, poetry, video or photography to envision how they might change the larger societal system of patriarchy and create an accepting society.
According to the press release, patriarchy is a system of power whereby masculinity and men are marked as inherently more worthy than femininity and women. This puts men on top, giving them more access to power, resources, and even knowledge. It tells women that they deserve less: less money, less freedom, less strength. And it erases people who don’t ascribe to traditional gender roles, too often with violence. Through this contest, students will be encouraged to question, challenge, and break down patriarchy and show what a post-patriarchal world looks like.
The Dismantle Patriarchy contest consists of two categories of competition: high school and college. Ten winners from each category will receive $1,000 prizes. All final submissions are due April 7, 2022, and an awards ceremony for the winners will be held in late April 2022.
Questions that entrants should consider for their submissions include:
- Think about how the concept of gender and gender roles shape our lives. How do they impact you and your peers, your family?
- What does patriarchy mean to youth today?
- How does patriarchy affect transgender people and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender-based violence?
- If you view gender differently than you’ve previously been taught to see it, how do you think your worldview will change? What does that mean for the future and our world?
- Who does patriarchy prioritize? What would a non-patriarchal world look like for traditionally marginalized and excluded folks?
How would you Dismantle Patriarchy?
For additional information on the Dismantle Patriarchy Contest, see below and also visit https://dismantlepatriarchy.org/
