One of the most important categories that we put people into is gender or sex. When we first look at a person, most people automatically take note of the fact that you are a man or a woman, a boy or a girl. From birth, people are categorized into either male or female. Before you even really know which one you are (or even if you do not identify as either one), you are put into pink or blue clothes and limited to things that boys or girls typically do.
Along with that, there are particular expectations about women. Many parents will encourage their daughters to play with dolls. But they do not approve when they want to fight or do something tough. They are not expected to do as well as their male counterparts – brothers in their families or the boys in their classes – on technical subjects such as math and science. In the classes or workplace, people may not believe that girls and women can perform as well as the boys and men in the class. All of this is part of a misogynistic point of view.
Misogyny is any kind of prejudice against women and girls
It is often a hatred or contempt for all or almost all members of the sex as a whole, without consideration of the peoples’ individual characteristics that make up the group.
Unfortunately, misogyny is often rooted deep into modern society. Almost all cultures have some sort of prejudice against women, whether it is thinking that women are only fit to be in the kitchen and household, believing that they need to wear something specific, or that they are not good at certain skills. Because it is so widespread, to different degrees, the origin of such thinking it difficult to determine.
Some theories as to where misogyny comes from include that it comes from the glorification of war, or the complications of childbirth. Either way, there are many arguments for where it comes from. Nowadays, there are many more people examining how these arguments are flawed and how we can strive for a more equal society.
By many accounts, the level of equality between men and women overall can tell how well, economically, a country is doing. For a country that has higher levels of equality, the economic development levels tend to be better. This is not always a direct cause, but having more women in the workplace benefits both equality and the economy as a whole.
Notes about Usage
Like any other type of prejudice, calling someone a misogynist or saying that there is misogyny in any setting will cause a lot of defense. People will automatically say that they are not trying to insert an opinion, but merely pointing out the facts. Or, they will point to something such as what the women themselves are doing or that they hate men.
As more women go to college and get Bachelor’s degrees, and as issues such as the gender gap in science and technology and pay are addressed, this issue will continue to be a big point of controversy.
What you can know is that many of these mindsets are based on a long standing tradition of culture, and culture at the societal, national, and even international level is slow to change.
