Patriarchy hits the brakes in the fight against climate change
"Are you a feminist?" comes from Minister Gewessler without warning. The question had not been asked.
"Yes!", I reply as if shot from a pistol, without thinking. When you have two daughters, you somehow seem to automatically become a feminist.
Do we need to smash the patriarchy?
That was the provocative initial question of the "Smash Patriarchy?" session in Alpbach. Do we really have to smash patriarchy? Do we have to use violence and temporarily introduce a matriarchy in order to tackle humanity's greatest challenge - namely to reduce CO2 emissions in order to save the planet for ourselves in the end? It turned out to be a wonderful morning. Not even the constant rain outside bothered us.
The setting was intimate, but in the packed Liechtensteinsaal it was clear from the very first second that something very special was going to happen that morning. And how. Anna Mendelssohn, a multi-award-winning performance artist, put on such a powerful show that by the end, it wasn't just the greenery lying tattered on the floor - my previous understanding of patriarchy, feminism and a few other things was also dented. But Mendelssohn hadn't just hurt me - I could see it in the eyes of the others too. In addition to the expected young women, there was a noticeable number of men over 50.
"My previous understanding of patriarchy, feminism and a few other thingshas been dented"
Then the actual session started - and in a completely reversed setting: normally a group of "very important" men speak and a woman is allowed to moderate in between. In the Liechtensteinsaal, however, exciting, clever women who are outstanding in their field had the floor throughout, and I was allowed to comment on something in between as the moderator.
The central question that stood above everything else: Is climate change not making any progress because patriarchal structures are preventing it? Because patriarchal feeding troughs need to be smashed?
Three questions were derived from the central question:
- What can we do to empower people to stand up against patriarchal structures?
- Do we need Matriarchy?
- How do we get people out of their comfort zone so that they change their behavior?
