Matthew Wu, University School of Nashville

I recently read a report by the United Nations about the lives of women during the pandemic. The report talks about the impact of the pandemic on women and the increase in domestic violence rates. For instance, in France, the reports of domestic violence have increased by 30 percent since the lockdown on March 17; in Cyprus and Singapore, the helplines have registered an increase in calls of 30 percent and 33 pecent, respectively. The data suggests that COVID-19 might rearrange the social structure and lead to the reappearance of patriarchy.

The economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic rearranged the existing gender order in capitalist societies, thereby adding to the increase in domestic violence. During COVID-19, many people lost their jobs and suffered financially. Every family, therefore, had more economic burdens to bear. With the unfavorable economic circumstance and the increase in structural economic oppression, many men perceived their “masculinity” to be threatened, for they lost their jobs and were unable to support their families.

Moreover, many men also perceived women as “out of control,” as the increase in physical contacts and economic pressure rendered family disputes almost inevitable. To regain their “masculinity” and their position in the family, men used violence as a technique of control against women, restructuring gender order and reclaiming their male dominance.

COVID-19 not only led to the reappearance of patriarchy in social and familial structures but also increased the reproductive labor of women. By “reproductive labor,” I mean that capitalist societies often assign women to unpaid, unrecognized domestic labor such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare.

During the pandemic, the children were out of school and had to stay at home, so women had to take care of their children. This, in turn, led to imbalances in the gender distribution of unpaid care work. Statistically, women had to spend 4.1 hours per day on unpaid care work, but men only had to spend 1.7 hours per day on unpaid care work. By increasing the reproductive labor of women, COVID-19 subjected women not only to the capitalist system’s dominance but also to patriarchal oppression and male dominance.