Jane Fonda: The patriarchy is like a wounded dragon… this is all a result of fear

Jane Fonda plays a dragon in the new animated film Luck. It’s on Apple TV+ and it looks cute. I’ll probably check it out. But how cool would it be to have ‘dragon’ on your resume? While doing press for the film, Jane discussed the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade. Jane, of course, had been working in favor of reproductive freedom since Roe first became law. She defended Roe in 1992 when the Supreme Court debated Planned Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey. And now that the Dobbs decision has come down, Jane stated the fact that this is all a result of the patriarchy’s need to control. Jane said it is because the patriarchy knows its days are numbered that it’s trying everything it can to keep its power. These draconian and cruel measures are all based in fear.

Jane Fonda has a message for the those who have rolled back abortion rights for people who can get pregnant.

“The issue of women being able to control their bodies — it’s about power. It’s the ultimate power,” the longtime activist, 84, tells Yahoo Life. “I view the patriarchy, interestingly enough, like a wounded dragon. A wounded beast is the most dangerous flailing about, but they’re wounded and that’s why the patriarchy is scared. And we mustn’t forget that this is all a result of fear on the part of the men and women who are patriarchal.”

“We cannot give up, and we won’t, because we have 50 years of absorbing this right into our bodies, into our DNA, into our hearts and minds,” Fonda explains. “We know what it feels like to have agency now over our bodily decisions. We’re not ever going to get rid of that. We’re not going back.”

[From Yahoo]

I agree with Jane that the patriarchy is always afraid they’ll lose their power. But I also think they control people because they can. The Dobbs decision was no last grasp, it was methodically executed after years of carefully laid groundwork. I agree that fear drives many of these awful decisions, but I don’t know about the wounded dragon part. Maybe they were at one point, but they found a way to get 46.8% of the population to vote for a traitor just to protect their interests. That sounds less like flailing and more like inciting their base.

Jane’s right about the dangerous part. The patriarchy, GOP, Old Guard, Wounded Beasts – whatever we want to call them – are rallying to shore up any stronghold they can. They will rip the rights away from anyone that isn’t them while they have that power. And she’s right that we cannot give up. We have to keep fighting, despite how hopeless it feels right now. Jane is a bit more optimistic about how effective we’ll be and whether we will be able to stop society from going back, but I won’t stop fighting the backslide while there’s still breath in me. I do like that Jane included women as part of those who “who are patriarchal.” I’m all for women voting against their own interests being made to wear a scarlet “P”.

Photo credit: Avalon Red, Backgrid and Cover Imges

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

8 Responses to “Jane Fonda: The patriarchy is like a wounded dragon… this is all a result of fear”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. C-Shell says:

    I agree with you, Hecate. Bless Jane for her conviction that we won’t be forced back into the dark ages, but I’m far more pessimistic. Anyway, I pray she’s right.

  2. Stacey Dresden says:

    We have to keep fighting. I know we are all tired and depressed but we MUST. Be a beacon of reproductive justice for your community no matter how small the reach.

  3. BUBS says:

    Women who support the patriarchy are the absolute worst!!! Imagine voting against your very own interest!!!

    • MeganC says:

      White women benefit enormously from the patriarchy. It’s why a majority of them voted for Trump, twice.

  4. Ihatepeople says:

    Yes! Women voting against our interests. I’m done, and do not support them and yes yes yes to wearing a scarlet p!

  5. Kaye says:

    Go, Jane. I’ve always admired her. Even during the “Hanoi Jane” era, I always felt her comments came from a place of conscience. (Not saying the comments were right or wrong.)

  6. North of Boston says:

    I find that after the dumpster fire of 2016-2020 POTUS and now Dobbs, I have much less tolerance for misogyny and bigotry in casual conversation. Never liked it but sometimes would just ignore it.

    The other day at work I did something that needed doing (the person whose job it was left, their replacement hasn’t been hired yet, no one tangential to it bothered to do the bare minimum to address it, and it was bogging down something I needed to do, so I did it) … and a co-worker (male) commented on it, and how well it was done “That came out great! It just needed a woman’s touch!” And I was NOT having it.

    Me: no, it just needed someone to take the time to do it, and pay attention to how it needed to be done, and to do it
    Him: yeah but none of us guys could have done it like that
    Me: you don’t need to be a woman to have the the data be correct and aligned
    Him: but most guys wouldn’t have bothered unless someone made them
    Me: but that’s not something needing “a woman’s touch” that’s guys being lazy and choosing to do something badly
    Him: yeah, I know, some women won’t put up with that … ha ha, I know my wife doesn’t, ha ha
    Me: but it’s not on women to “not put up with it” It’s on men to not lazily do something badly or not at all in the first place.

    I am so done with ALL the stupid biases and bigotry that somehow leave white men holding all the power but free from any of the responsibilities of being decent functional human beings. There are sooo many examples of this – like the SNL skit take off of the Japanese show Old Enough, where instead of parents sending 3,4 year olds out to run errands on their own … and they pretty much succeed, women send their grownA boyfriends out to buy 2 things at grocery store and they can’t do it … yes it was comedy but I know more than a few couples where that would not be far from the truth, where the guy is perfectly capable of subscribing and navigating every streaming service, gaming platform, or retaining complex sports stats but is completely “baffled” (aka disinterested, figure they should not have to be bothered unless someone makes them) by a vacuum cleaner or their child’s feeding or school routine or how to put toner/paper in the office copier.

  7. Gigi says:

    The thing that shocks me the most is the women that support this! I still cannot believe it. My sister lives in Texas and has been badgering me to watch this “documentary” called “What is a woman” by Matt Walsh. I was going to watch it, but then she sent me links saying that trans people are angry and telling me that 10-year-olds are putting their parents in jail because they refused to let the kid start their transitions. I was like, nope! HARD PASS.