Instructor:
Elisha Madison
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Elisha has Master's degree in Ancient Celtic History & Mythology, as well as a Bachelor's in Marketing. She has extensive experience creating & teaching curricula in college level education, history, English, business and marketing.
While hatred of women, full-stop, is the literal translation of misogyny, its modern definition reflects a fear or disdain for successful women, and while it resembles sexism, it is not. Learn what misogyny is, what it isn't, and see examples of misogynic behavior in this lesson.
Updated: 11/15/2021
What is Misogyny?
Misogyny is defined as the ''hatred or fear of women''. However, although the word 'misogyny' does translate to hatred of women, it's not an all-encompassing hatred of actual women. Instead, it's more of a dislike of certain behaviors that misogynists deem unbecoming to women, such as power, independence, and ambition. This means that misogynists can actually come across as gallant and chivalrous because they see themselves as superior to women. They tend to want to live in the world of the 1950s where the man worked and the woman stayed home to cook and clean.
Although misogyny can resemble sexism, it is a little different. Sexism is actually the prejudicial behavior against women on the basis of their gender. This means that, unlike misogyny, sexism focuses on women as a whole, not on their behaviors.
Where the misogynistic behavior comes in is when women do not behave in the way men deem appropriate. Although each man is different, most misogynists believe that women should not hold roles of power, should not be strong-willed, and should always defer to the men around her. This belief can result in men being verbally abusive, and even physically abusive, depending on the severity of the misogyny, although this is not always the case. Misogyny can also lead someone to agree that abuse is permissible if done to correct unwanted behavior.
