Digital Patriarchy: A Sociological Analysis of Gendered Power Relations in Online Communities

Abstract

The expansion of digital technologies has transformed the landscape of social interaction, power, and identity formation. While the internet was once heralded as a space of liberation and equality, it has increasingly replicated and amplified pre-existing patriarchal hierarchies. This paper explores the phenomenon of digital patriarchy, the reproduction and reinforcement of gendered power relations through online networks, algorithms and digital communication practices. Drawing upon feminist sociological theories, poststructuralist discourse analysis, and studies of digital labor, this analysis investigates how gendered hierarchies persist and evolve in virtual spaces. Through an interdisciplinary lens, it examines the architecture of social media platforms, online harassment cultures, algorithmic biases, and digital economies of visibility to understand how patriarchy adapts to digital modernity. The paper concludes by reflecting on feminist strategies of resistance and the possibility of constructing egalitarian digital publics.