Well, first of all, the patriarchy is a social system - women are just as steeped in patriarchy as men are, and can and do act on that in detrimental ways at times too. It's not a synonym for men, and any entry level social scientist can study and understand all sorts of things that they don't have direct experience with. I could become an expert on anti-Semitism without having to become Jewish, for example.

Plus, most women don't actually care why the men around them do the things that they do to hurt them - they just want them to stop. I personally think that is more likely to happen if we all understand the sociological and historical dynamics in play, including the ways that patriarchy harms men and the ways that women uphold it at times too.

Patriarchy is a male-dominated social system that has systematically and often brutally disadvantaged and oppressed women, but it's also one that is quite detrimental to men as well. Most feminists acknowledge that, but are more focused on the parts that impact women - in part because men still have the bulk of political, social, and economic power in this country, and they can and should work on their own issues.

But yes, patriarchy really is a social science construct (not just a feminist one) centered in stratification and the maintenance of "traditional" power differentials via intimidation, coercion, and sometimes even violence. I think it's really important to understand all these other social science attributes that go way beyond a sort of two-tiered power gender differential.