What societal structure is characterized by male domination over women?

Societal structures are classified by which gender holds the dominant institutional power. A patriarchy is a social order in which men occupy the primary positions of authority, leadership, and property control, while women are structurally subordinate to that authority; a matriarchy is the mirror-image structure with women in dominant positions; androgyny and egalitarianism describe gender-trait blending and equal-status arrangements respectively, not male-over-female dominance.

The stem asks specifically for the structure defined by male domination over women. Matching this definition against each option shows that only one term names a system where men hold structural authority over women.

• Androgyny: the blending or coexistence of masculine and feminine traits in an individual's identity, not a description of societal power distribution between genders.

• Matriarchy: a social system in which women hold the primary positions of authority and leadership, the reverse of male-dominated structures.

• Egalitarianism: a principle under which all genders hold equal status and access to power, with neither gender structurally dominating the other.

• Patriarchy: a social system in which men hold the primary positions of authority, leadership, and property control, with women structurally subordinate to that authority.

Patriarchy is therefore the term that names a societal structure characterized by male domination over women.