V, identified in the source article as Even Ensler, has introduced a new term in a Guardian essay: “psychopatriarchy.” Her argument is that the “endless destructive paradigm of the patriarchy” has become so much worse that an even more “sinister” force is now needed to explain the world. Apparently, ordinary political vocabulary has been sent to the attic, while the thesaurus is running the show.
V writes, “The wheels are off the cart,” and then describes the moment in sweeping, apocalyptic terms. “We are in the midst of a chaotic, demented acceleration of the most violent and cruel aspects of this system which has evolved into what I am calling Psychopatriarchy.” That is not exactly a modest warning. Under this theory, nearly every political and social problem becomes another piece of evidence in a vast patriarchy-shaped conspiracy board.
She defines the new word this way: “Psychopatriarchy is a reaction, a backlash against the progress we have made on all fronts: women’s rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, workers’ rights, trans rights, etc.” She continues, “It has birthed an authoritarian fascist reality, poisoning our social and psychological environment with terrorizing violence, cruelty, and precarity.”
V also argues, “It has consolidated the billionaire class who are driven by the mindset summed up in the slogan “move fast and break things.” Or, one might say, grab things, rape things.” The argument is certainly not short on dramatic language. A phrase that sounds like it was assembled from a political slogan generator is now being offered as a grand diagnosis of modern society.
President Trump is a major target of the essay. V calls President Trump a “civilly adjudicated sex abuser” and accuses him of dismissing allegations of sexual violence involving people around him while making misogyny fashionable among his supporters. She says he has created a “suffocating atmosphere of misogyny and predation.” Those are V’s claims in the essay, presented as evidence for her psychopatriarchy argument.
V also blames Pete Hegseth, Jeffrey Epstein, what she calls the “genocide” in Gaza, and ICE for various problems connected to the same theory. She points to the manosphere and online “rape academies,” alleging that millions of men exchange advice about drugging and raping women. Deepfake pornography and sex robots are also placed on the list of supposed symptoms. When one theory can absorb President Trump, billionaire culture, online forums, Gaza, immigration enforcement, and sex robots, it has certainly achieved impressive reach.
Her proposed responses include voting, lawsuits, going on strike, and writing angry messages like the essay itself to call attention to the issue. V also calls for building a parallel world that is “generous” and “caring,” supposedly helping the “ignorant” escape the “cult” of psychopatriarchy. The Gateway Pundit writer reads that proposal as a form of re-education, which is not an entirely surprising interpretation given the language used.
The article closes with a reference to Drill Sergeant Hulka from the comedy movie Stripes as a supposedly better source of advice. That sarcastic movie reference may be the most practical suggestion in the final lines, which is quite a finish for an essay attempting to explain nearly every modern grievance with one remarkably oversized word.
