Do you wonder why it's so hard to get a broad section of society to simply understand the concept of "patriarchy?"

One factor, as I see it, lies in hyperbolic descriptions, several of which can be found above.

In these, half the human species seems to be branded as incorrigible rapists and murderers, while the other half is portrayed as the embodiment of self-actualized perfection.

Who's going to listen to that? Why should they? It's hateful dogma.

Men started almost all the wars. They also built almost all the hospitals and wrote most of the books. They make most of the music, paintings, poetry, etc.

That doesn't make "men" better or worse.

It just points out that on top of all the unjustifiable class/race differentials, our social system also contains a persistent, gender-based power differential.

Such imbalances can be found along lines of class and "race," yet these are arbitrary, socially-constructed concepts, and they tend to be more fluid over time.

Gender (or here, Sex), on the other hand, is principally seen in absolutist, "either/or" terms -- a dichotomy. (It's not, of course... gender runs a spectrum, as well. But that's too long of a discussion to try to have here.) Sex differences are not socially constructed, and are relatively static. Imbalances based upon gender tend thus to be more persistent.

Perhaps it's not actually "men vs women" that's the problem, but is instead the power differential and, importantly, its persistence.

=====
Amazon Woman wrote:
"It is NOT natural for men to be so obedient that they kill other men they dont even know just because some dysfunctional knuckle-drager tells them to..."

"men run the world (are primitively "dominant" )"

WARFARE IS AS NATURAL AS AGRICULTURE. Maybe you should reconsider your use of terms such as "natural" and "primitive" and "knuckle-dragger."

The way you use those terms, I can't tell whether you think we all used to live in peace & harmony, or if life was brutish and short. Do you think that the natural state of things is loving cooperation or a chaotic nightmare of primitive domination, rape, and murder?

And what of biology? How do we account for the fact that, other than the bonobo/pygmy chimp, our closest primate relatives have male-dominated societies?

====
Amazon Woman wrote:
"As for women needing protection-who do we need protecton from? MEN!"

It is comments such as that which perpetuate the very dichotomies we should seek to eliminate. Women don't need protection from men... We ALL need protection, and all need to protect each other, from those who would harm and/or oppress us.