These days, the word \"misogyny\" gets thrown around a lot. In its simplest form, misogyny is the hatred of women. But it's not always that simple. Misogynistic attitudes can be directed at individual women or towards all women. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n
\"Misogynistic\" is defined as \"a hatred of women.\" It can describe individuals or groups who display prejudice, discrimination, or hostility toward women. It also describes behaviors or attitudes that reinforce sexist stereotypes about women.<\/strong><\/p>\n While Misogyny is most often directed toward women as a whole, it can also be directed toward specific groups of women, such as feminists or women in positions of power. It can also be directed toward individual women, particularly those who challenge sexist norms or defy gender roles.<\/p>\n Misogyny is not limited to men. Women can also be misogynists, either toward other women or toward themselves. Internalized misogyny is when a woman accepts and believes the sexist messages she receives from society, leading to self-hatred and negative attitudes toward other women.<\/p>\n The word \"misogynistic\" comes from the Greek words \"miso,\" meaning hatred, and \"gyne,\" meaning woman. If you check the Oxford dictionary, it list that the meaning of the word \"misogynist\" was first used 1620 by a proto-feminist play, anonymous play named Swetnam the Woman-Hater. The point of the play was to criticize anti-woman writer Joseph Swetnam. In the play, his pseudonym was called Misogynos, which is where the actual word came from. The term was not used very often until the mid-1970s.<\/p>\n Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard have a speech in 2012 which brought the word back to the forefront. The title of the presentation was the Misogyny Speech. It mainly was a dedicated to her criticism of her opponent\u2019s habit of judging her policies in a different light than her male counterparts. She also referenced the habit of the same male politicians using crude sexual terms and phrases when referring to her.<\/p>\nExample Usage<\/h2>\n
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Origin<\/h2>\n