When model Cara Delevingne wore a blouse with the statement at the 2021 Met Gala, sexual pleasure instructor Luna Matatas awoke to hundreds of tags on social media of her trademarked phrase “Peg The Patriarchy.”

She later realized that the hashtags were about Cara Delevingne’s Dior dress at this year’s Met Gala, rather than for her small business.

The actress attended the Met Gala dressed in a provocative outfit. A white Dior bulletproof vest with a simple red phrase, “Peg the Patriarchy,” framed her matching white pants.

When asked about the meaning, the actor and model said, “If anyone doesn’t know what this word is, you’re going to have to look it up because I’m not going to explain it,” while pointing to the word ‘peg’.

Delevingne told Vogue journalist Keke Palmer, “It’s about women empowerment, gender equality — it’s a bit like, ‘Stick it to the man.”

Peg the Patriarchy was born in 2015 when a small company owner, Luna Matatas, invented the phrase and began selling clothing and accessories with the strong message of subverting the patriarchal system’s marketing.

Luna Matatas has owned the trademark since 2018. Peg The Patriarchy / Luna Matatas

Matatas said she had no clue Delevigne’s clothing would include the phrase.

“It would have been so easy to give credit,” Matatas told Jezebel. “It’s such an extension of the tools of patriarchy to have competition, to have very callous ways of being in the same spaces together. We’re both feminists, let’s lift each other up.”

Dior has also been blamed by several on social media.

“This happens to small artists all the time. So much so that I have an assistant whose job includes finding and tracing people printing and selling Peg the Patriarchy,” said Matatas.

Instagram

“Remember that as a fat, queer, POC I am working twice as hard just to do what I’m already amazing at. From censorship to patriarchy to racism, all biz barriers specific to my social location. Enter sex shop co-owner at Met Gala with a custom designed vest with Peg the Patriarchy on it. What’s grossest for me is the media interviews – with Cara blatantly owning it as if it wasn’t already owned. Sound familiar? *Coughs in colonialism*”

It also adds to Matatas’ workload in terms of optimizing her algorithm and SEO. When someone Googles “Peg The Patriarchy,” the link to Delevingne is right at the top of the results. According to Matatas, she is currently dealing with more imitation designs of her apparel than ever before.

“Patriarchy has no gender, working to dismantle it benefits us all,” her website reads

As she wrote on Instagram in July, “pegging the patriarchy” implies “subverting a system of oppression that impacts all genders and is upheld by the behaviours and ideas of [white] colonial masculinity.”

Matatas, who also sells t-shirts with the slogan, went on to thank individuals who had pointed out the co-opting of her term and encouraged people to tell her whenever they saw #pegthepatriarchy on social media.

“Thank you for making it easier to protect my peace by feeling like I belong in community with you,” she said. “I am thriving.”

Matatas claims she has contacted Delevingne and Lora DiCarlo but has not received a response. She doesn’t expect to, especially because she can’t afford to go to court. The outpouring of support from her community and new followers has been a good aspect of the situation.