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Relations of Ruling
Relations of Ruling is a feminist sociological concept defined as "the composite range of structures, practices, and ideologies that govern relations" (Lutrell).

Background
The concept of relations of ruling was developed by feminist sociological theorist Dorothy Smith (Ritzer 2007) in the latter half of the 20th century. It focuses on the control of human social production and interaction by a specific set of social activities where dominance is shown (Ritzer 2007). Examples of these social activities are patriarchy, business, government, and the "ruling capitalist society", all of which are used to exhibit power over others, specifically in feminist theory interpereted as men claiming power over women (Ingraham 94).

Influences
In formulating this concept, it is apparent that Smith drew influence from many famous social theorists. Especially prevalent in her work are the concepts of the American sociologist Harold Garfinkel, the founder of ethnomethodology. In ethnomethodology, members of society are studied for how they interact with their surroundings using methods that they have learned, tending to focus on the everyday interactions members of society face in life (Ritzer), an idea which Smith takes and seems to mix with Karl Marx's theories of conflict to show how everyday interactions can allow members to exhibit dominance and control.

Applications in Feminism
According to the concept of relations of ruling, everyday occurances and situations are biased to lead to exhibitions of dominance. In a male-skewed society, this is most commonly played out as expressing to women that they are subordinate to men, and even to other men that they are subordinate. Smith even applied the relations of ruling to sociology itself, stating that the reason why many social theorist were abrasive to the idea initiall was because of the system of sexism created by the male sociologists- it was impossible to see the problems from the masculine point of view, because there were no problems from the masculine point of view (Collins).

Applications Beyond Feminism
In addition to its influence in Feminist Social Theory, the relations of ruling have also had an impact when applied to other contemporary social issues such as racial and socio-economic situations. In both situations, much like when interpereted for feminist theory, when members of society participate in everyday systems with standard methods, dominance and subordinance are being expressed.