Misogyny, hate crime, and feminist legal theory
My name is Meghan Hoyt and I study misogyny and hate crime. I am interested in feminist legal theory and what it means to create feminist legislation. One element of my research was clarifying the definition of misogyny.
Misogyny is a word that has been used with increasing frequency in the media and public discourse. Despite its prevalence, the concept of misogyny remains under theorized and is a word to which multiple meanings can be attached. There are three main ways misogyny is currently understood.
Misogyny as Intensifier
The most common way misogyny is framed is as hatred or an intensification of hostile feeling towards women. While this understanding is useful in highlighting the threatening or hostile aspects of gendered oppression, it is ultimately limiting. First, it frames misogyny as an extreme act, as only the more extreme examples of gendered violence will look like hatred. Second, it locates misogyny within the individual psychology of ‘some men’ who hate women.
Misogyny as Continuum
A second way of thinking about misogyny address the shortcomings of thinking about misogyny as ‘hatred’. This understanding locates misogyny in the ‘everyday’ and uses the feminist idea of a continuum of gendered violence and opens up the possibility of understanding misogyny as more than simply ‘hate’. It is an acknowledgement that not all manifestations of patriarchal control are going to look or feel violent. This understanding of misogyny gets closer to the lived experience of women, however, it remains difficult to define misogyny if it is being used to everyday gender bias and extreme violence.
Misogyny as Backlash
Misogyny has also been understood as a ‘backlash’ from men who are resentful at their perceived loss of status due to advancements in gender equality. Here misogyny becomes more than just individual hatred, but rather a broader, structural project to maintain a gendered status quo. This understanding introduces the idea of misogyny as retribution for transgressing social norms, however it is limited by suggesting that misogyny exists because of feminism, or only in situations where men feel threatened.
Misogyny Theorized
In 2018, academic Kate Manne published Down Girl, which presented a theoretical account of misogyny that incorporated key elements of the previous three understandings. Manne offered a framework which brought together core elements of misogyny – retribution and threat – and placed them within a patriarchal framework explaining why misogyny occurs and the variety of forms it takes.
Manne argues that misogyny is a political phenomenon – not a psychological one – which depends on the existence of patriarchal norms. The function of misogyny within the social structure of patriarchy is as the ‘law enforcement branch’ and is used to uphold and maintain the patriarchal norms of a given society. So misogyny doesn’t ‘just exist’ throughout history, nor is it primarily a reaction to feminism – rather, ‘it is a predictable manifestation of the social power relations within patriarchy’.
By grounding misogyny in the framework of patriarchy it allows for more flexibility. We don’t get a list of proscriptive acts, but rather an understanding that misogynistic actions will reflect the shape of the patriarchy in a given society – it is when those social norms are transgressed that misogynistic actions become more likely. This means that misogyny will look and feel very different to differently situated people. It is when women fail to conform to patriarchy notions of femininity, or occupy non-traditional roles that they become targets of hostility. We can think of women in the military, female athletes, lesbian or trans women, vocal feminists or female politicians as some of the women who transgress these norms. However, even women who occupy traditional roles can experience misogyny if they fail to perform the role in a way that upholds patriarchal standards.
Bibliography:
Manne, K. (2018) Down Girl: the logic of misogyny’. Penguin. p. 49.
