Misogyny and Its Everyday Expressions

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Historically, misogyny, derived from the Greek word mīsoguníā, was defined simply as hatred towards women. But many a misogynist might decry such a definition, pointing to their love for their spouse, mother, or grandmother as “proof” that they love women in their lives. Enter Cornell University professor Kate Manne (2024, 2017), who has a new take on the concept, defining it in terms of control and punishment of women who dare to challenge male dominance.

In the field of psychology, misogyny traditionally has been studied as an “individual emotion” (McCarthy & Taylor, 2024) but now there is movement toward thinking about and researching misogyny as affective practice. What sort of practices? In her book Down Girl, Manne discusses social systems or environments, namely patriarchal ones, that reward women who reinforce or toe the line of the status quo of male dominance and punish those who don’t. What does male dominance look like? Seeking to return women to second-class citizens—and some are saying the quiet part out loud in 2024. Nominee for governor of North Carolina Mark Robinson stated to a room full of women voters, “I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote” (Otten, 2024).

Manne (2024) theorizes that misogyny is often a response to the anxiety that some persons may experience in the wake of social progress and a wish for a return to the “good old days.” Dalton Clodfelter, host of “The Right Dissident," does not mince words when he says (or yells), “a woman’s place is in the home," and that women have no business working outside of it, or running for office, or even expressing their political voice through their vote. So how do misogynistic males (and some females) punish women who do not “know their place”?

Have you been on the platform formerly known as Twitter or Instagram lately? Hostile, often degrading attacks against well-known female celebrities like Taylor Swift, or law experts such as Dr. Barbara McQuade, are disturbing and shocking, but also unsurprising when you look at the sources of the misogynistic epithets. It’s harrowing and hair-raising when you first read these unpleasant, toxic attacks, but one can also become numb or desensitized to the standard operating procedure of persons, often male, who feel threatened by smart, talented women posting and interacting in the public sphere. Here is a specific example.

In September 2024, Elon Musk promised via a tweet to “give” Taylor Swift “a child” immediately after she endorsed a candidate for President. Many men in power (i.e., Musk owns the platform and has explicitly and repeatedly endorsed a different candidate for President) and/or who feel their dominant status is threatened (Swift has 95 million followers on X and 284 million on Instagram, and is therefore a powerful social influencer) feel comfortable saying just about anything to women, publicly and privately, but especially to women seen as 1) breaking new ground (e.g., Swift precipitated a half-million visits to the voter registration site vote.gov), and 2) violating the status quo (e.g., being a self-made billionaire, pursuing a successful career, and being a highly popular, unmarried “cat lady”).

Expressions of misogyny are all too common, and in Psychology of Women Quarterly, Haines et al. (2016) found that the individual beliefs, attitudes, and values that fuel gender stereotypes and derogatory comments have not dissipated over the decades. Further, Forner (2023) pointed out the ways in which misogyny sabotages clinical practice and research in psychiatry and psychology. Expressed misogyny also negatively impacts women’s mental and physical health (Harnois & Bastos, 2018) and promotes hostility and disrespect toward women in the spaces where it occurs. Comments on platforms are so malicious and appalling that, as a therapist, I recommend regular mental health breaks from social media to clients and colleagues.

A sign of progress would be if women on X or Instagram were able to state facts and express opinions without being attacked in vile, unsophisticated ways (i.e., words you would have found scrawled on the wall of a bathroom stall in the 1970s). Electing a woman to the highest office in the land would be another indicator we are evolving and learning to move away from entrenched misogyny as defined by Manne. Are we at a point where a candidate who passes fact checks with ease, possesses relevant job experience, and exhibits calm and poise, can be voted into office regardless of biological sex? Time will tell.