They get glorified on social media. Several movies and soap operas glorify such men and encourage the actions of these men who view women as objects to be collected, disrespect them, harass them, criticize their bodies, undermine their abilities in a professional environment, and disregard their privacy and right to give consent and their wellbeing. Misogyny is a term that many people easily throw around in a blog post or a beautiful essay and yet find it difficult to recognize in reality. The hate and prejudice against women and girls have formed the basis for uncountable crimes against women throughout history; in different cultures, work settings, and environments. It is said that many women all over the world have been forced to accept this attitude as the new normal and might even contribute to encouraging misogynistic behaviors in men.
What is misogyny?
This term simply refers to hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. Are there people who hate just women and hold unfounded grudges against them? Misogyny has surprisingly been with us for much longer than most of us think. It is an attitude that has been found to exist across several cultures to keep women at a lower status than men.
In male-dominated societies, this attitude forms the basis for the suppression of women, domestic violence against women, and other crimes against women. Misogyny upholds and expects a certain status quo from women. It develops a reward system for women who live by these unwritten rules and meet up with the expectations but punishes those who challenge it, question the status quo, or even dream of living differently.
How is misogyny dangerous?
Kate Manne in her book “Down girl: The logic of misogyny”, explained that misogyny seeks to reinforce male dominance. In 2014, a certain Eron Gjoni made a blog post where he wrongly accused his ex of having sexual relations with a game critic to get a positive review for her game. His online accusations resulted in the harassment of this woman both online and physically. She received rape and death threats which spread to other women in the video game industry.
Several studies have revealed how misogynistic behaviors are promoted online leading to different forms of violent crimes against women. Women who promote feminist ideas or challenge traditional patriarchal ideologies are made to face punishments aimed at keeping them in “their place”.
Many domestic violence crimes against women are committed by misogynists. They see domestic abuse as a way of keeping women under control. Some even feel that women should be held accountable for men’s wrong actions and so they blame the women for suffering abuses. Others punish their daughters, sisters, and wives for challenging traditional ideas. They excuse bad behavior in men and expect women to tolerate such behaviors even at the expense of their lives or safety.
The scariest consequence of misogyny has to be internalization. This is when women and girls start to believe that the misogynist lies, stereotypes, and myths about them are true. After spending several years living with misogynists who enforce their beliefs and condition their victims to accept abuses as normal, a good number of women around the world have internalized this attitude. These women participate in activities that dehumanize other women, they encourage their daughters to aspire to these expectations and abandon their loved sisters and friends in the hands of their abusers.
How can you identify a misogynist?
It’s in their attitude and in the way they treat the women around them. If you’re lucky, you get to hear them speak about it.
Misogynists expect women to understand their place below men and to act like it. They exhibit acts of disrespect and hatred towards women in many subtle or extreme ways. Men who are misogynists may treat their intimate partners like objects or trophies. They make remarks concerning women’s bodies publicly or in private. They constantly label women using unattractive or demeaning terms. An example is that cocky guy at work who brags about how many women he has slept with or that boyfriend who believes you should feel honored if he approves of your body type, your looks, and your attitude.
They propagate the idea that a woman should strive to appear marriageable, should try to impress the men around her, and should seek their validation. They blame women for their problems; “Oh, if she didn’t speak so harshly, I wouldn’t have hit her”, and “Her bad attitude is the cause of my poor performance at work”. The excuses keep piling up and he may make the woman suffer for his inadequacies.
They are uncomfortable with successful women. They view them as proud and too ambitious. “She is too ambitious for a woman”. He is biased against women in the workplace and fights against a woman rising above him at work.
In summary, misogyny is a problem and will continue to threaten the well-being of women if we do not speak up and fight against it using the law and every platform at our disposal.