Misogyny (misogyny) means a morbid aversion, or even hatred of a particular man towards women. Misogynists appeared not only in antiquity and in later centuries, when the social position of women was lower than it is today. Today you can also come across a misogynist: read what are the symptoms of misogyny and find out if it is possible to change the attitude of a man prejudiced against women. See also the definition of misandria.

Misogynyis a word that comes from Greek - "misos" means hate and "gyne" means woman.Misogynistis therefore prejudiced against women, and is even characterized by a pathological disgust towards them. The misogynist considers women inferior to men and would like them to be subjected to them, claims that they are guilty of all the evil in the world. A woman may also be a misogynist who is contemptuous and disrespectful towards other women.

The origins ofmisogynycan be observed in antiquity - in mythology we can find the terrible witch Circe, who turns men into pigs and Pandora - the first woman brought to earth by Zeus as a punishment for humanity - it was she who opened the famous can with misfortunes that fell on the world. It was not much better later - each of the monotheistic religions places the woman lower than the man. Eve was guilty as was Pandora, and Saint Paul writes in the fifth chapter of Ephesians that wives should be subject to their husbands as to the Lord. Saint Peter, on the other hand, commands women to be silent in the Church. When Jews pray, they thank God that he did not create them with women, and the dislike of women in Islam is visible at first glance - they are to cover their body so as not to tempt men with it.

Although we do not obey many of the religious precepts today, and unimaginable progress has been made in the 20th century in the field of women's rights, the elements ofmisogynycan also be seen in contemporary culture. After all, the term "weak sex" still functions, a compliment to a woman is the phrase that "she has balls", but definitely not the statement that "plays like a girl". We are afraid of dominant mother-in-law and grumpy wives.

Despite everything, we live in a completely different reality than the one in which the former misogynists operated - but this does not mean that menthere are no prejudices against women - check what causes misogyny and find out how to recognize a misogynist!

Misogyny - causes

There may be several reasons for a man's dislike of women:

1.Fear- the misogynist is often simply afraid of women - he is rarely in their company, they are for him like visitors from a foreign planet. Although he is very firm in his theories, he often loses all his confidence when dealing with ladies: they do not speak, stray with their eyes, behave awkwardly.

2.Jealousy- although declaratively a misogynist hates and despises women, his attitude may result from … jealousy that women can bear children. The misogynist may repeat that the role of a woman is "to sit at home, cook, fulfill her husband's wishes", but in this way he tries to explain his own sense of inferiority.

3.Family situation in childhood- misogyny may result from the upbringing of a future misogynist - or in a family ruled by a despotic mother other family members) or on the contrary - the father ruled and at every step showed his wife or partner disrespect.

4.Bad sexual experiences with women- being laughed at by a woman or failing to meet her own expectations in an intimate situation also in some cases leads to the attitude of a misogynist.

5.Mental disordersless often they can also be the cause of misogyny.

Misogyny - symptoms. How to recognize misogyny?

  • The misogynist loudly proclaims the inferiority of women to men, cites various arguments in support of them, e.g. he points to a small number of women in history - artists, writers, researchers, emphasizes the lower physical strength of women, etc.
  • The misogynist is full of prejudices against women, stereotypical and unfair thinking about them.
  • The misogynist avoids the company of women as much as possible.
  • The misogynist in the presence of women becomes withdrawn and shy or treats them like air - he doesn't seem to hear what they say to him.
  • The misogynist at work does not hesitate to make biting remarks about women, rolling his eyes or sighing when they say something.
  • The misogynist at home favors his sons, treats his wife as a person to fulfill his whims.
  • The misogynist allows men much more: he excuses their betrayals and other immoral behaviors while criticizing them very much in women.
  • The misogynist treats women differently than men - he listens to them with less attention, more often to themhe interrupts, behaves less freely in their company.
  • Being in a relationship, a misogynist does everything to make a woman feel as bad as possible - he does not treat her like a partner, he does not meet her expectations (or even makes her angry), he focuses on himself: his requirements and expectations.
  • In extreme cases, the misogynist is the perpetrator of domestic violence.
Worth knowing

Famous misogynists

  • Jan Jakub Rousseau - a philosopher who claimed that men do not need women, but that they enjoy sex with them. He added that it is different with women, according to him they are completely dependent on men.
  • Fryderyk Nietzsche - a famous philosopher, creator of the theory that the happiness of a man is the saying "as I want", and the happiness of a woman - "he wants".
  • Oscar Wilde - author of "Portrait of Dorian Gray" claimed that a man can be happy with a woman as long as he does not love her, and that neither of the ladies will ever be a genius because they are the "decorative sex".
  • Otto Weininger - author of the book "Gender and character", in which he points to the inferiority and "wickedness" of women and … Jews (he was a Jew himself, but of a Christian faith). He committed suicide shortly after the book was published.
  • David Gilmour - a contemporary writer who claims that he does not teach women or… Chinese to write, because he only wants to teach those he loves, i.e. men.

Misogyny - treatment

Treating misogyny is very difficult because a misogynist must be willing to heal himself and noticed symptoms of misogyny at all, and not deny any attempt to make him aware of it.

Most often, a misogynist sees nothing wrong in his attitude - he considers the inferiority of women to be a fact and has no intention of changing his mind. It is the misogynist's partner who often cares more about his recovery and, above all, about feeling happy in the relationship.

The form of treatment of misogyny is psychotherapy, adapted to a specific person, the use of relaxation techniques and in extreme cases - if the psychotherapist decides to visit a psychiatrist of a misogynist - pharmacological treatment.

Misogyny and misandria

It's good to know that misogyny also has a female version - misandria. The word is also derived from Greek ("misos" means hate and "aner" means male) and means women's sickness towards men.

The causes of misandria are very similar to those that cause misogyny: a woman who hates men has low self-esteem, envies them, and therefore tries to show otherwise - that she despises men.

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About the authorAnna SierantEditor in charge of the Psychology and Beauty sections, as well as the main page of Poradnikzdrowie.pl. As a journalist, she cooperated, among others. with "Wysokie Obcasy", the websites: dwutygodnik.com and entertheroom.com, the quarterly "G'RLS Room". She also co-founded the online magazine "PudOWY Róż". He runs a blog jakdzżyna.wordpress.com.

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