Making visible invisible mechanisms of oppression that connect seemingly isolated and disparate events
This rhizome is an ongoing, dynamic, interactive and open collaboration with no institutional or political affiliations. Created by Jill Goldman, the Disentanglement Rhizome would not have been possible without the generous contributions of Asti Hustvedt and Emmett O’Malley, or without the many inspirational ideas generated by the members of Joanna Ebenstein’s Matriarchal Societies Study Group – including Mia Pokriefka, Rebecca Darling, Marissa Seko, Jill Littlewood, Sarah Wallace, Ame Simon, Tanja Thorjussen, Mary Ketch, and so many others.
In solidarity, and towards a more equitable and just society based on the values of care and compassion…
Borrowed from from Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the rhizome to illustrate how patriarchy proliferates and sustains its power, this interactive rhizome illustrates how patriarchy proliferates and sustains its power. Borrowed from botany, the term rhizome describes plants that have an interconnected subterranean network of roots that spread horizontally, sending up offshoots in new terrain. Because every point connects to every other point, weeding the visible plant does nothing to eradicate the underground root system, making a rhizome very difficult to destroy. In contrast, a tree has a single origin—a seed that develops roots, a trunk, and branches. If patriarchy functioned as a tree, its proverbial smashing would be no more difficult than chopping that individual tree down. This interactive rhizome maps the ways in which patriarchy indiscriminately crosses borders, embedding itself in new territories. Race, class, sexuality, the environment, nationality, mass incarceration, capital and labor are just some of the separate domains that patriarchy infiltrates, creating mutually reinforcing systems of domination and exploitation. A rhizomatic problem requires a rhizomatic solution, a multipronged and intersectional method that works to disrupt and disentangle patriarchy’s tenacious hold in multiple fields.
Rhizome Photos
