''Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny'' is a book by

Kate Manne Kate Alice Manne (born 1983) is an Australian philosopher, associate professor of philosophy at Cornell University, and author. Her work is primarily in feminist philosophy, moral philosophy, and social philosophy. Education and career Born in A ...

, treating

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

in the tradition of analytic

feminist philosophy Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in ...

.Manne, Kat
"Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny"
Published 8 November 2017 by Oxford University Press, , Retrieved on 12 November 2018. The book won the

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2019 PROSE Award in Philosophy (as one category in the Humanities), as well as the overall 2019 PROSE Award for Excellence in Humanities.

Summary

Manne proposes that

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

, and misogyny are distinct: sexism is an ideology justifying patriarchy, while misogyny enforces patriarchy by punishing women who deviate from patriarchy. Manne believes dehumanization of women is not necessary for misogynist violence.

Himpathy

In ''Down Girl'', Manne introduces the term ''himpathy'', "the excessive sympathy shown toward male perpetrators of sexual violence," and develops the concept in the context of her analysis of the ''

People v. Turner ''People v. Turner'', formally ''The People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner'' (2015), is a high-profile criminal case in which Brock Allen Turner was convicted by jury trial of three counts of felony sexual assault. On Januar ...

'' sexual assault trial. The term received media exposure in Manne's ''

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'' op-ed, "

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oc ...

and America's 'Himpathy' Reckoning", and in titles and headlines in '' Vox'', ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

'',

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, ''

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'', and ''

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''. In the book's preface, Manne credits her husband with coining the term.

Recognition

British philosopher

Nigel Warburton Nigel Warburton (; born 1962) is a British philosopher. He is best known as a populariser of philosophy, having written a number of books in the genre, but he has also written academic works in aesthetics and applied ethics. Education Warburton r ...

chose the book as the best philosophy book in 2018. The

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly ...

awarded its biennial Book Prize to ''Down Girl'' in 2019. In the prize announcement, the Association wrote: "Manne has succeeded in measurably improving the quality of public discourse on very timely and vexed issues by writing a book that is both accessible and rigorous."

References

{{reflist Oxford University Press books Feminist theory 2017 non-fiction books