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If you strolled past the store this International Women’s Day, you may have noticed our striking window. Our display features a small statue of a woman brandishing a very real strap-on dildo in her right hand, surrounded by colourful strap-on dildos and posters which read ‘Peg the Patriarchy’.
Like many, you may have first seen the term emblazoned on Cara Delevingne’s 2021 Met Gala outfit: a white, bulletproof vest designed by Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri. In wearing it, Delevingne and her PR team seemed to be attempting to pull it off as their own hot new feminist slogan. However, much like their measly attempts at explaining its origins, the outfit was both a discredit to the phrase’s true meaning, and the person who coined it.
Whose line is it anyway?
The phrase first came into circulation in 2015, developed by Canada-based sex and pleasure educator Luna Matatas. Matatas’ experience as a self described, fat, POC, queer person, contributed to a very nuanced and eye opening meaning behind the slogan. Ironically, a slogan which would be later snatched by a thin, wealthy, white woman who dwindled it down to a defanged, “It’s kind of like, stick it to the man”. And while ‘stick it to the man’ is quite vague and lacklustre, it leaves a certain image in one's mind. So let’s dive into its accurate and appropriate definition, as intended by its creator.
What does ‘Peg the Patriarchy’ actually mean?
Although the slogan features the term ‘peg’ (the sexual act of someone, usually with a vulva, using a strap-on dildo to anally penetrate another person, usually with a penis), the phrase has nothing to do with the act, but with the gendered oppression caused by a patriarchal society.
‘Peg the Patriarchy’ is about subversion; it's about subverting a system built on gendered oppression by which women are expected to be subservient and obedient. Hence the use of ‘peg’. Subversion is about overthrowing an established (and usually unfair) system. You may think of it as getting the patriarchy to ‘bend over’, to remove the gender hierarchy and bring those who are traditionally used to being on top, to the bottom. In the spirit of International Women’s Day, we encourage you to all ‘peg’ the patriarchy by partaking in small actions (or acts of protest) which subvert a system that seeks to continually undermine and oppress us. Us: the women, the queer, the non-binary, the fat, the BIPOC, the disabled; or any other marginalised group at the mercy of news headlines this week. And hey, if that involves consensually pegging a straight white man, then go forth and peg!
Written by Finula Greene
All this pegging talk got you in the mood?
Check out our other pieces on pegging:
Pegging away at stigma and stereotypes