Misogyny is the dislike of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It isn’t always loud or violent, and can show up in small, undermining ways just as often.
Understanding what misogyny is, how to recognize it, and how to deal with it are important to keep yourself and others safe. This article gives a brief overview of misogyny and some steps you can take to deal with it.
What is Misogyny?
Misogyny means the hatred of or aversion to women. The word “misogyny” stems from the Greek words misien (“to hate”) and gynē (“women”).
It encompasses a large range of behavior, however. For example, both domestic abuse and not hiring someone because they are a woman are signs of misogyny. Behavior that is driven by the derision of women is misogynistic.
Women can also be misogynistic. For example, women putting other women down because they believe that women are inherently incapable or unworthy could be misogynistic.
Misogyny can lead to serious and life-threatening situations against women. If you or someone you love is the victim of domestic violence or abuse, help is available. Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-7233 or texting “start” to 88788
Examples of Misogyny
Misogyny can come in many forms. Some examples of it include:
- Belittling women: Making negative jokes, comments, or insults about women.
- Sexual objectification: Treating women mainly as objects for sexual pleasure rather than as individuals.
- Disregarding women’s opinions: Ignoring or undervaluing women’s thoughts, contributions, or expertise.
- Restricting opportunities: Limiting women’s access to jobs, promotions, or leadership roles.
- Controlling behavior: Trying to dominate women in relationships, work, or social situations.
- Blaming women for problems: Unfairly holding women responsible for social, familial, or personal issues.
- Harassment or intimidation: Making unwanted advances, threats, or coercion toward women.
- Stereotyping roles: Assumptions that women must fit traditional roles, like caretaker or homemaker, or criticizing them for stepping outside these roles.
- Disrespect for boundaries: Ignoring women’s consent, personal space, or independence.
- Undermining achievements: Downplaying or dismissing women’s successes or claiming they are due to luck instead of skill.
- Hostility toward feminist ideas: Openly opposing gender equality or mocking efforts to support women.
- Domestic and Sexual Abuse: Violence against women often stems from misogyny. At its worst, misogyny can put women in immense physical harm and even kill.
Misogyny is a complicated belief system and emotion, so it can be hard to identify and root out. If you recognize any of the above examples, take the steps to protect yourself.
Misogyny vs Chauvinism
Chauvinism, like misogyny, holds a negative perception of women. Unlike misogyny, chauvinism does not hold any hate or disgust against women. In fact, a chauvinistic person may claim that they love women and want to protect them.
The core belief of chauvinism is that men are superior to women, and that is because men are smarter, stronger, and more capable. Chauvinism posits that it is a man's responsibility to protect women. “Protection” can range from protecting women from physical dangers to taking away their right to work or make financial decisions, under the guise of doing what’s best for them.
Someone with chauvinistic beliefs may still enjoy being around women and respect them for what they believe they can do, while still maintaining an ideology that they are better than women.
Misogyny vs Sexism
Misogyny and sexism share many of the same aspects, but while misogyny is the hatred and discrimination against only women, sexism can go both ways. Sexism is the prejudice or discrimination against someone based on their sex or gender. It is the broader ideology behind misogyny. Misogyny is sexism in motion.
Misogyny is also often more extreme, expressing hatred, contempt, and hostility towards women. Sexism can be extreme, but it can also involve micro-aggressions and assumptions that the other gender is less than in some way.
How to Deal with a Misogynist
If you experience misogynistic behavior or have to interact with someone you know is misogynistic, what should you do? How do you handle this type of deeply ingrained hate?
First, try to remember that you are unlikely to change their mind. Misogyny is a deeply rooted belief system, and one conversation is unlikely to change their mind. Instead, focus on keeping yourself and others safe, mitigating harm, and ignoring the behavior.
Some steps you can take to deal with a misogynist include:
- Set healthy boundaries: If you have to interact with someone who holds misogynistic views, learn to set healthy boundaries and hold them. For example, not conversing with them if they talk down to you, or only being in the room with them when there is someone else with you, are good boundaries to keep yourself safe.
- Know when to walk away: You won’t win every argument. In fact, keeping you arguing to wear you down or prove a point is a tactic of some malicious misogynists. Instead, learning when to walk away (when there isn’t anything real at stake or there is a better, healthier way to accomplish your goals) will stop misogynistic behavior in its tracks.
- Call out behavior when appropriate: If you’re in a group or have a means of alerting others to the behavior, doing so can help put down misogynistic behavior. For example, if you hear a misogynistic comment, then you can say something like, "Did you mean to sound misogynistic when you said ______?" If the person remains genuinely open to the question, you can respectfully offer a replacement comment that is free of misogyny.
- Support and uplift other women: Probably one of the best ways to fight back against misogyny is to support and uplift women in the workplace, at home, with your friends, and in society. Creating a supportive space can look like, but isn't limited to: Joining or creating community groups that are run by and have a mission to support women's rights, making empowering statements toward the women in your life, posting uplifting messages geared towards women on social media, hanging up art/posters that include empowering imagery and phrasing, etc.
- Create safe spaces: Ensure the spaces you occupy are safe for women by shutting down misogynistic behavior, listening to women’s voices, and hearing out their concerns.
Misogyny is an overlapping problem that has many different causes and no one clear solution. By educating yourself on misogyny and taking steps to fight it, you are making the world a safer place for women everywhere.
If you’ve been a victim of misogyny and violence against women, you may have suffered trauma. Experiencing misogyny is linked to mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression. In addition to the suggestions made above, seeing a therapist is another effective way to process and navigate through those issues.
