How is misogyny different from sexism?

The term “misogyny” first appeared in the 17th century in response to a derogatory remark made towards women. English misogynist named Joseph Swetnamwrote a booklet intended to arraign women so as to raise hatred of other men towards them. Not surprisingly, it gained in popularity among men, leading women to question themselves on their places in the society.

With patriarchal social structures that were so long set up, granting more prerogatives to men, women feel both unimportant and despised. In the article of Nina Renata Aron about misogyny published in “The New York Times”, she argues that society was organized in a misogynistic way and pursues that people within it, particularly male individuals, might not realize they are women-haters. Throughout her article she mentioned an activist writer named Andrea Dworkin famous for standing up for women and writing books about feminism and misogyny. In one of her book entitled “Woman Hating” –that prompted to a real controversy – she gives further details on the notion of misogyny and evidences that the aspects of society have led to gender bias against women. “As women we live in the midst of a society that regards us as contemptible. We are despised . . . we are the victims of continuous, malevolent and sanctioned violence against us,” says Dworkin, reported by Renata.

Women continue to wrestle with sexism and misogyny at many levels that range from sports, politics and even reality TV.Sexism and misogyny are not the same, the term misogyny originated from the Ancient Greek word “misogunia” which etymologically means hatred towards women. In fact, the roots of misogyny have been tracked down to ancient Greek mythology. It is a common knowledge that misogyny is any hatred of, aversion to or prejudice against women, that might manifested in multiple forms such as violence against women, sexual harassment and rape, male privilege, patriarchy, ostracism, etc. Yet, philosophy professor and author Kate Mane maintains that misogyny is not about male hostility or hatred towards women; instead it’s about controlling and punishing women who challenge male dominance. She pursues that misogyny rewards women who reinforce the status quo and punishes those who don’t. In the same way, she is convinced that there are huge differences between sexism and misogyny. In the other hand, sexism can be defined as actions and behaviors against people–especially against women and girls– based uniquely upon their gender. That means any gender-based prejudice or discrimination. Sexism and misogyny might be perceived as being different but actually as going hand-in-hand. It is said that sexism is the ideology that encourages patriarchal social systems, whereas misogyny is the law enforcement of this patriarchal norms.

Sources: Article by Nina Renata Aron, published on The New York Times(March 2019) / VOX