Misogyny: 9 Attitudes That Portray Misogynistic People

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

It must be taken into account 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 misogynistic people is necessary to be able 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 woman’s body

Perceiving women as objects is one of the main characteristics of misogynistic people Objectification means that, on the one hand, women are considered an object used to obtain pleasure and to breed, and on the other, their value as a human being is diminished, making women only in the eyes of misogynistic people. worth because of its “functions” and not because of its human condition.

It should be noted that objectifying is not recognizing a person’s physical attractiveness, but rather reducing their entire identity to aesthetic or functional properties, just as one would do with any household tool.

2. Selective Puritanism

Another characteristic of misogynistic people is his tendency to selectively use a puritan-like morality when it comes to sexuality; Specifically, they apply it only when judging the behavior of women. That is why they denigrate women who dress or act in a way that they consider provocative, while they ignore this phenomenon in the case of men.

The logic behind this type of thinking is simple: since a woman’s value is basically related to aesthetics and her ability to bear offspring, anything that can be interpreted as a tendency to “share” these two qualities with someone That it is not the partner dilutes the value of the one who does it. The man, however, has value beyond his appearance and his reproductive role, so it is okay for him if he expresses his sexuality in a more or less visible way.

3. Tendency to encourage other people to objectify

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

4. Use of sexist violence

The use of sexist violence, whether physical, verbal or symbolic, is the most obvious manifestation of misogyny. This type of violence is systematically directed towards women simply because they are women, and is one of the main reasons why feminism claims the need to guarantee women’s rights.

5. Systematic criminalization of victims of sexist violence

Misogynistic people tend to place responsibility for sexist violence on the victims. They understand that these episodes of aggression are due to the woman not being careful enough or provoking others with her way of dressing, or it is simply assumed that the accusations of violence are false without having consistent evidence. that 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 we have over their bodies is legitimized, by defending the idea that they must adapt to very defined gender roles.

6. Marginalization of women

It is not surprising that misogynistic people tend to reject the idea of ​​interacting with women beyond the professional sphere or economic transactions. Nowadays 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, misogynists do it This does not mean that they use force; They can simply make capricious or absurd requests for the simple pleasure of seeing how it obeys. In some way, contexts in which men have power over women (such as at work) are taken advantage of and used far beyond what is justifiable. In the same way, it is acted as if there was 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

Under the influence of misogyny, female leadership, or Everything that involves giving visibility to women beyond their traditional roles is viewed with a bad light 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 movie Mad Max: Fury Road for giving the lead role and the role of hero to a character played by Charlize Theron.

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

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

Another characteristic of misogynistic people is the propensity to consider women as consuming lesser forms of culture: bad novels, bad television 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.