patriarchy

occupation / innovator as

academic

is burdened by the permanent anxiety that no man can ever know whether a child is his, an anxiety that requires women’s sexuality to be strictly policed.

The fact is, no man can ever know whether a child is his. A woman knows a child is hers, but a man can never know whether it is his, not even with a DNA test. A DNA test can only tell you if the child is not yours, but if your DNA matches, it only indicates ‘a high statistical probability’ that it is your child. As they say, ‘Motherhood is a biological fact, fatherhood is a sociological fiction.’ It is this knowledge that creates permanent anxiety for patriarchy, an anxiety that requires women’s sexuality to be strictly policed.

Nivedita Menon

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Nivedita Menon