Queer Creator Of 'Peg The Patriarchy' Explains Meaning Of Phrase On Uncredited Cara Delevingne Met Gala Vest
Cara Delevingne ripped off the phrase without credit.
YouTube & lunamatatas / Instagram Cara Delevingne has recently come under fire for the “Peg The Patriarchy” slogan that was printed on her outfit during Monday night's Met Gala.
Her statement outfit immediately went viral on social media, with people praising the model for carrying such a statement to such a high-profile event.
In an interview on the carpet for the Gala, when asked to explain the meaning behind Peg The Patriarchy, Delevingne said that it meant “women empowerment and gender equality” and if people didn’t know what the term pegging was referring to they should “look it up.”
Though now, the problem doesn’t lie in the fact that Delevingne had the slogan on her outfit, but that the slogan was actually trademarked by Luna Matatas, a sexual pleasure coach, and a proud queer, woman of color.
Matatas did not receive credit from the model or Dior — who designed the vest — and she's calling them out for doing the exact opposite of what the viral slogan stands for.
What does 'Peg The Patriarchy' mean?
The term pegging was initially coined by Dan Savage, a sex columinst, in the early 2000s to describe a cisgender man being pegged by a cisgender woman.
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Though, the act of pegging is often portrayed as a subversive sex position because it flips the gender roles during sex, for Matatas, her slogan isn’t about men being pegged.
"'Peg the Patriarchy is about subversion, not about an anal sex act and not about men,” Matatas explains. “It’s a metaphor for subverting the system that requires subservience within a gender binary.
The statement is also intended to expose that the patriarchy doesn’t have a gender, and is instead a system that oppresses all of us.
Who is Luna Matatas?
Matatas actually started her Peg The Patriarchy brand five years ago. She sells merchandise, including clothes, mugs, and accessories, all printed with the slogan on it. She is based out of Toronto, and splits her time between her business and being a sex-educator.
The business owner even went as far as to trademark the slogan back in 2015.
Matatas says the slogan was born from her teachings about sex in her different workshops. She found that conversations surrounding sexuality were often shrouded by the topic of the patriarchy. She came up with the slogan during Pride month in Toronto, and started selling t-shirts with the slogan printed across it.
For Matatas the slogan became a way to connect people, but it was also intertwining the message of equality and sex education.
Luna Matatas called out Cara Delevingne and Dior for ripping off her phrase.
For Cara Delevingne to not credit Matatas, a queer woman of color who is often on the receiving end of many people ripping off her design, is disrespectful, and also another version of white feminism.
The meaning behind Peg The Patriarchy loses its meaning when stolen from Matatas, and instead becomes a product of privilege.
Matatas even explains that it is upsetting to see her slogan be misconstrued from not only Delevingne, but now the public as well. “
This spirit of competition and erasure, especially of a queer woman of colour by a white, thin cis woman, this work is very patriarchal,” she explains. “It’s very much how patriarchy sets us up to think that we can’t win if we all thrive.”
For someone like Luna Matatas, who doesn’t have the same power as Dior and Delevingne, it’s important for her to reclaim her space that has taken Matatas so hard to create in the first place.
Stealing work from any person of color when people of color have to work twice as hard as their white counterparts to receive even a sliver of recognition is extremely hurtful and damaging.
It shows that society only acknowledges people in marginalized communities when they have something worth taking, and that is an idea that needs to be eradicated immediately.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.