The Reign of Men

Masculine domination is so rooted in our social practices and our subconscious that we barely notice it; it is so in tune with our expectations that we find it difficult to question. Bourdieu draws on his studies of Kabyle society. An analysis of the workings of this society helps to understand the most hidden aspects of the relationships between the sexes in our own societies and masculine domination as a prime example of symbolic violence—a subtle, invisible, omnipresent violence exercised through the everyday practices of social life. However, it also comes to an analysis of social mechanisms and institutions—the family, the school, the church, and the state.