Misogyny: 9 facts that portray misogynistic people

Misogyny is a concept used to refer to hatred, more or less concealed, towards women and girls.

Keep in mind that misogyny is only an idea that describes real behaviors of real people, and therefore only exists through the actions of certain people.

Characteristics and attitudes of misogynistic people

Recognizing misogynist people is necessary in order to relativize their behavior and to educate respect for all people, regardless of their physical characteristics.

Below you can see what they are the main characteristics, attitudes and propensities of misogynistic individuals.

1. Objectification of the female body

Perceiving women as objects is one of the main characteristics of misogynistic people. The objectification means that, on the one hand, the woman is considered as an object used to obtain pleasure and to nurture, and on the other, it is subtracted value as a human being, making a woman worthwhile in the eyes of misogynists only because of her "functions" and not because of her condition human.

It should be noted that reifying is not recognizing the physical attractiveness of a person, but to reduce its entire identity to aesthetic or functional properties, just as it would be done with any household tool.

2. Selective Puritanism

Another characteristic of misogynistic people is their tendency to selectively use Puritan-like morals when it comes to sexuality; specifically, they apply it only when judging women's behavior. That is why they denigrate women who dress or act in a way that is considered provocative, while ignoring this phenomenon in the case of men.

The logic behind these types of thoughts is simple: how the value of women is basically related to aesthetics and to her ability to give offspring, anything that can be interpreted as a tendency to "share" these two qualities with someone other than the couple dilutes the value of the one who he does. The man, however, has value beyond his appearance and his reproductive role, so it is okay if he expresses his sexuality in a more or less visible way.

3. Tendency to encourage other people to objectify

Misogyny is not something you get used to living in isolation, but rather it is linked to a way of seeing things that you try to share with others. For example, this makes it common for misogynists to encourage other people to make derogatory or unpleasant comments about strangers who pass by.

4. Use of sexist violence

The use of sexist violenceBe it physical, verbal or symbolic, it is the most obvious manifestation of misogyny. East type of violence targets women systematically for the sake of it, and is one of the main reasons why feminism claims the need to guarantee the rights of women.

5. Systematic criminalization of victims of sexist violence

Misogynistic people tend to look to the victims for responsibility for sexist violence. They understand that these episodes of aggression are due to the woman not being careful enough or provoking others with the way she dresses, or Well, the allegations of violence are simply assumed to be false without consistent evidence to suggest that possibility.

In this way, a double objective is achieved. On the one hand, violence against women is hidden, and on the other, the power that is had over the body of these is legitimized, by defending the idea that they must adapt to very defined gender roles.

6. Marginalization of women

It is not surprising that misogynist people tend to reject the idea of ​​associating with women beyond the professional sphere or economic transactions. Today there is even a movement called Men Go Their Own Way in which a lifestyle away from women and traditional marriage is claimed.

7. Authoritarian tendencies with women

Whenever there is the possibility of imposing one's will on a woman, misogynist people do it. This does not mean that they use force; they can simply make whimsical or absurd requests for the simple pleasure of seeing how it obeys. In some way, it takes advantage of contexts in which men have power over women (such as at work) to use it far beyond what is justifiable. In the same way, it acts as if there is a tacit agreement according to which the woman obeys, even in informal contexts in which there is no higher and lower position.

8. Rejection of female leadership

Influenced by misogyny, female leadership, or Anything that involves giving women visibility beyond her traditional roles is frowned upon. This can be reflected both in the business and organizational environment and, for example, in the criticism of works of fiction. Last year, for example, there was some controversy when part of the Internet community called for a boycott of the film Mad Max: Fury Road for giving the protagonism and the role of hero to a character played by Charlize Theron.

In this way, a traditional vision of things is defended in which the most relevant decisions are always taken by men, and attempts to change this are seen as strident attempts to attract attention.

9. Tendency to relate lower forms of culture with the feminine

Another characteristic of misogynistic people is the propensity to view women as consuming lesser forms of culture: bad novels, bad TV shows, bad songs, etc. This critical look at what the majority of women consume does not apply when analyzing the forms of culture that men consume massively.