Misandry
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Misandry () is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against
men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...
.
Men's rights activists The men's rights movement (MRM) is a branch of the men's movement. The MRM in particular consists of a variety of groups and individuals (men's rights activists or MRAs) who focus on general social issues and specific government services which ...
and other masculinist groups have criticized modern laws concerning
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
, domestic violence, the draft, circumcision (known as genital mutilation by opponents), and treatment of male rape victims as examples of institutional misandry. In the
Internet Age The Internet Age refers to the time period since the Internet became widely available to the public for general use, and the resulting impacts on and fundamental changes in the nature of global communication and access to information. The beginni ...
, users posting on
manosphere The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within the manosphere include men's rights activists, incels (involuntary celibates), Men Going Their O ...
internet forums such 4chan and subreddits addressing men's rights activism (MRAs), claim that misandry is widespread, established in the preferential treatment of women, and shown by
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
against men. This viewpoint is denied by some
sociologists This is a list of sociologists. It is intended to cover those who have made substantive contributions to social theory and research, including any sociological subfield. Scientists in other fields and philosophers are not included, unless at least ...
,
anthropologists An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
and scholars of
gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...
who counter that misandry is not at all established as a cultural institution, nor is it equivalent to
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 practice ...
which is many times more prevalent in scope, far more deeply rooted in society, and more severe in its consequences. Scholars criticize MRAs for promoting a
false equivalence False equivalence is an informal fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. Colloquially, a false equivalence is often called "com ...
between misandry and misogyny. The modern activism around misandry represents an
antifeminist Antifeminism, also spelled anti-feminism, is opposition to some or all forms of feminism. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, antifeminists opposed particular policy proposals for women's rights, such as the right to vote, educat ...
backlash, promoted by marginalized men.


Etymology

Misandry is formed from the Greek ''misos'' (μῖσος, "hatred") and ''anēr'', ''andros'' (ἀνήρ, gen. ἀνδρός; "man"). "Misandrous" or "misandrist" can be used as adjectival forms of the word. Use of the word can be found as far back as the 19th century, including an 1871 use in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' magazine. It appeared in ''
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...
'' (11th ed.) in 1952. Translation of the French to the German (Hatred of Men) is recorded in 1803. A term with a similar but distinct meaning is ''androphobia'', which describes a fear, but not necessarily hatred, of men. Writer
Helen Pluckrose Helen Pluckrose is a British author and cultural writer known for critiques of Critical Social Justice and promotion of liberal ethics, most notably in the grievance studies affair. Education Pluckrose completed a degree in English literature ...
has argued that ''androphobia'' is a better term when the aversion to men stems from a sense of fear. Anthropologist David D. Gilmore coined a similar term—"viriphobia"—to show that misandry typically targets the virile male ''
machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
'', "the obnoxious manly ", along with the oppressive male roles of patriarchy. Gilmore says that misandry is not the hatred of men as men; this kind of loathing is present only in misogyny which is the hatred of women as women.


Background

The term ''misandry'' started to be used in men's rights literature and academic literature on structural prejudice in the early 1980s. It has been used on the internet such as
usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
, and blogs since at least 1989. Usage of the term ''misandry'' in the
internet age The Internet Age refers to the time period since the Internet became widely available to the public for general use, and the resulting impacts on and fundamental changes in the nature of global communication and access to information. The beginni ...
is an outgrowth of
antifeminism Antifeminism, also spelled anti-feminism, is opposition to some or all forms of feminism. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, antifeminists opposed particular policy proposals for women's rights, such as the right to vote, educat ...
and
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 practice ...
. The term is commonly used in the
manosphere The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within the manosphere include men's rights activists, incels (involuntary celibates), Men Going Their O ...
, such as on men's rights discussion forums on websites such as 4chan and
reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, imag ...
, to counter feminist accusations of misogyny. The critique and parody of the concept of misandry by feminist bloggers was reported on in periodicals such as ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', '' Slate'' and ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' in 2014.


Overview

Men's rights activists The men's rights movement (MRM) is a branch of the men's movement. The MRM in particular consists of a variety of groups and individuals (men's rights activists or MRAs) who focus on general social issues and specific government services which ...
and other masculinist groups have criticized modern laws concerning
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
, domestic violence, the draft, circumcision (known as genital mutilation by opponents), and treatment of male rape victims as examples of institutional misandry. The word ''misandry'' forms a core part of the vocabulary of
manosphere The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within the manosphere include men's rights activists, incels (involuntary celibates), Men Going Their O ...
online spaces. The use of this term in the manosphere provides justification for harassment of people espousing feminist ideas by online groups, citing
Gamergate Gamergate may refer to: * Gamergate (ant), a worker ant that can store sperm and reproduce sexually * Gamergate (harassment campaign), targeting women in the video game industry * Lt. Gamergate, a character in the ''Adventure Time'' episode " Den ...
as an example. Arguments based on the concept of misandry are used by the
men's rights movement The men's rights movement (MRM) is a branch of the men's movement. The MRM in particular consists of a variety of groups and individuals (men's rights activists or MRAs) who focus on general social issues and specific government services whi ...
to counter feminist accusations of misogyny. Proposed examples of misandry in popular culture include frequent portrayals of men as absent, insensitive, or abusive, as well as a legal process that discriminates against men in divorce proceedings, or in cases of domestic or sexual violence where the victim is a man. Other examples include social problems that lead to men's shorter lifespans, higher suicide rates, requirements to participate in military drafts, and lack of tax benefits afforded to widowers compared to widows. In a 2016 ''Washington Post'' article,
Cathy Young Catherine Alicia Young (born Yekaterina Jung russian: Екатерина Юнг; born February 10, 1963) is a Russian-born American journalist. Young is primarily known for her writing about feminism and other cultural issues, as well as about R ...
wrote that terms using "man" as a derogatory prefix, such as
mansplaining ''Mansplaining'' (a blend word of ''man'' and the informal form ''splaining'' of the gerund ''explaining'') is a pejorative term meaning (of a man) "to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often in ...
,
manspreading "Manspreading" or "man-sitting" is a pejorative neologism referring to the practice of men sitting in public transport with legs wide apart, thereby covering more than one seat.Cathy YoungManspreading'? But women hog subway space, too" ''Newsda ...
, and manterrupting, are part of a "current cycle of misandry". Religious studies professors Paul Nathanson and
Katherine Young Katherine Young (鄭珣; Pinyin: Zhèng Xún) (May 10, 1901 – October 24, 2005) was an American centenarian who, at the age of 102 in 2003, gained publicity when she was described as the oldest known living user of the Internet. Biography Bo ...
examined the institutionalization of misandry in the public sphere in their 2001 three-book series ''Beyond the Fall of Man'', which refers to misandry as a "form of prejudice and discrimination that has become institutionalized in North American society", writing, "The same problem that long prevented mutual respect between Jews and Christians, the teaching of contempt, now prevents mutual respect between men and women."
Warren Farrell Warren Thomas Farrell (born June 26, 1943) is an American political scientist, activist, and author of seven books on men's and women's issues. He is a leading figure of the Men's Rights Movement. Farrell initially came to prominence in the 19 ...
is a men's rights activist trained as a
political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
, who has written on feminism and men's rights. Farrell argues that men's rights publications are censored online and it is difficult to publish books on the topic compared to feminist issues. He argues that men are often socially rejected for expressing feelings, while at the same time being blamed for not doing so. He argues that there is gender bias, reinforced by feminism, of who is considered to deserve protection and who is held accountable for problems with women tending to be seen as both unaccountable while needing protection, arguing that this needs to change to remove gender roles. Responding,
James P. Sterba James P. Sterba is an American philosopher who specializes in ethics, political philosophy and philosophy of religion. Biography Sterba is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.
argues that women may have been excluded from dangerous professions such as the military to protect male status, citing the example of
Eritrean–Ethiopian War The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 1998 to June 2000. The war has its origins in a territorial dispute between the two states. After Erit ...
where he argues women gained status in society by virtue of fighting in the war and contrasting it with Israel where he says that women's exclusion from military
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
and the military in general diminishes their status and as a result their influence in politics.


In psychology

Glick and Fiske developed psychometric constructs to measure the attitudes of individuals towards men in their ''Ambivalence toward Men Inventory, AMI'', which includes a factor ''Hostility toward Men.'' These metrics were based on a small group discussion with women which identified factors, these number of questions were then reduced using statistical methods. ''Hostility toward Men'' was split into three factors: ''Resentment of Paternalism'', the belief men supported male power, ''Compensatory Gender Differentiation'', the belief that men were supported by women and ''Heterosexual Hostility'', which looked at beliefs that men were likely to engage in hostile actions. The combined construct, Hostility toward Men, was found to be inversely correlated with measures of gender equality when comparing difference countries and in a study with university students, self-describing feminists were found to have a lower score.


In literature


Ancient Greek literature

Classics professor
Froma Zeitlin Froma I. Zeitlin is an American Classics scholar. She specializes in ancient Greek literature, with particular interests in epic, drama and prose fiction, along with work in gender criticism, and the relationship between art and text in the cont ...
of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
discussed misandry in her article titled "Patterns of Gender in Aeschylean Drama: Seven against Thebes and the Danaid Trilogy". She writes:


Shakespeare

Literary critic
Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking wor ...
argued that even though the word misandry is relatively unheard of in literature, it is not hard to find implicit, even explicit, misandry. In reference to the works of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, Bloom argued:


Modern literature

Anthony Synnott argues that there is a tendency in literature to represent men as villains and women as victims and argues that there is a market for "anti-male" novels with no corresponding "anti-female" market, citing '' The Women's Room'', by Marilyn French, and ''
The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.
'', by
Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...
. He gives examples of comparisons of men to Nazi prison guards as a common theme in literature.
Racialized In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization often arises out of th ...
misandry occurs in both "high" and "low" culture and literature. For instance,
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
men have often been disparagingly portrayed as either infantile or as eroticized and hyper-masculine, depending on prevailing cultural stereotypes. Julie M. Thompson, a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
author, connects misandry with envy of men, in particular "
penis envy Penis envy (german: Penisneid) is a stage theorized by Sigmund Freud regarding female psychosexual development, in which young girls experience anxiety upon realization that they do not have a penis. Freud considered this realization a defining m ...
", a term coined by
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
in 1908, in his theory of female sexual development. Nancy Kang has discussed "the misandric impulse" in relation to the works of
Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...
. In his book, ''Gender and Judaism: The Transformation of Tradition'',
Harry Brod Harry Brod (February 1, 1951 – June 16, 2017) was a professor of sociology at University of Northern Iowa. Education He held a PhD in Philosophy, 1981, from the University of California, San Diego. Men's studies Brod was one of the first aca ...
, a Professor of Philosophy and Humanities in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the
University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...
, writes: In 2020, the explicitly misandric essay '' Moi, les hommes, je les déteste'' (''I Hate Men'') by the French writer Pauline Harmange caused controversy in France after a government official threatened its publisher with criminal prosecution.


Misandry and feminism

The role of misandry in
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
is controversial and has been debated both within and outside feminist movements. Opponents of feminism often argue that feminism is misandristic; citing examples such as opposition to shared parenting by NOW, or opposition to equal rape and domestic violence laws. The validity of these perceptions and of the concept has been claimed as promoting a
false equivalence False equivalence is an informal fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. Colloquially, a false equivalence is often called "com ...
between misandry and misogyny.
Radical feminism Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a Political radicalism, radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are al ...
has often been associated with misandry in the public consciousness. However, radical feminist arguments have also been misinterpreted, and individual radical feminists such as
Valerie Solanas Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminist known for the ''SCUM Manifesto'', which she self-published in 1967, and for her attempt to murder artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Solanas had a turbulent child ...
, best known for her attempted murder of
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...
in 1968, have historically had a higher profile in popular culture than within feminist scholarship. Historian
Alice Echols Alice Echols is Professor of History, and the Barbra Streisand Chair of Contemporary Gender Studies at the University of Southern California. Retrieved March 17, 2013 Education Echols received her bachelor's degree from Macalester College, Minne ...
, in her 1989 book ''Daring To Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967–1975'', argued that Valerie Solanas displayed an extreme level of misandry in her tract the ''
SCUM Manifesto ''SCUM Manifesto'' is a radical feminist manifesto by Valerie Solanas, published in 1967. It argues that men have ruined the world, and that it is up to women to fix it. To achieve this goal, it suggests the formation of SCUM, an organization de ...
'', but wrote that it was not typical for radical feminists of the time. Echols stated: "Solanas's unabashed misandry—especially her belief in men's biological inferiority—her endorsement of relationships between 'independent women,' and her dismissal of sex as 'the refuge of the mindless' contravened the sort of radical feminism which prevailed in most women's groups across the country." Echols also claims that, after her attempted murder, Solanas' ''SCUM Manifesto'' became more popular within radical feminism; but not all radical feminists shared her beliefs. For example, radical feminist
Andrea Dworkin Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist writer and activist best known for her analysis of pornography. Her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 30 years. They are found in a dozen solo ...
criticized the biological determinist strand in radical feminism that, in 1977, she found "with increasing frequency in feminist circles" which echoed the views of Valerie Solanas that males are biologically inferior to women and violent by nature, requiring a
gendercide Gendercide is the systematic killing of members of a specific gender. The term is related to the general concepts of assault and murder against victims due to their gender, with violence against women and men being problems dealt with by human r ...
to allow for the emergence of a "new ''Übermensch'' Womon".


Individual viewpoints


bell hooks

The author bell hooks conceptualized the issue of "man hating" during the early period of women's liberation as a reaction to patriarchal oppression and women who had bad experiences with men in non-feminist social movements. She also criticized separatist strands of feminism as "reactionary" for promoting the notion that men are inherently immoral, inferior, and unable to help end sexist oppression or benefit from feminism. In ''Feminism is For Everybody'', hooks laments the fact that feminists who critiqued anti-male bias in the early women's movement never gained mainstream media attention and that "our theoretical work critiquing the demonization of men as the enemy did not change the perspective of women who were anti-male." She has theorized previously that this demonization led to an unnecessary rift between the
Men's movement The men's movement is a social movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, primarily in Western countries, which consists of groups and organizations of men and their allies who focus on gender issues and whose activities range from self-help ...
and the
Women's movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such is ...
.


Anthony Synnott

Anthony Synnott, a sociologist who studies
masculinities Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...
and men's issues, argues in his book ''Re-Thinking Men: Heroes, Villains and Victims'' that certain forms of
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
present misandristic view of gender. He argues that men are presented as having power over others regardless of the actual power they possess and that some feminists define the experience of being male inaccurately through writing on masculinity. He further argues that some forms of feminism create an
in-group In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify. People may for example ide ...
of women, simplifies the nuances of gender issues, demonizes those who are not feminists and legimitizes victimization by way of retributive justice. Reviewing Synnott, Roman Kuhar argues that Synnott might not accurately represent the views of feminism, commenting that "whether it re-thinks men in a manner in which men have not been thought of in feminist theory, is another question."


Nathanson and Young

Religion scholars Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young argued that "ideological feminism" as opposed to "egalitarian feminism" has imposed misandry on culture. Their 2001 book, ''Spreading Misandry'', analyzed "pop cultural artifacts and productions from the 1990s" from movies to greeting cards for what they considered to be pervasive messages of hatred toward men. ''Legalizing Misandry'' (2005), the second in the series, gave similar attention to laws in North America. The methodology used by Nathanson and Young to research misandry has been criticized. In the book '' Angry White Men'',
Michael Kimmel Michael Scott Kimmel (born February 26, 1951) is an American retired sociologist specializing in gender studies. He was Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University in New York and is the founder and editor of the academic jour ...
argues that much of the misandry identified by Nathanson and Young is actually criticizing patriarchy. Kimmel condemns Nathanson and Young for their "selective, simplistic, and shallow" interpretations of sexism in film and fiction. Kimmel says that the "bad history" produced by Nathanson and Young should only be used as an indicator of how the "male studies enterprise" operates.


Individualist feminists

Wendy McElroy Wendy McElroy (born 1951) is a Canadian individualist feminist and voluntaryist writer. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of ''The Voluntaryist'' magazine in 1982 and is the author of a number of books. McElroy ...
, an individualist feminist, wrote in 2001 that some feminists "have redefined the view of the movement of the opposite sex" as "a hot anger toward men
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
seems to have turned into a cold hatred". She argued it was a misandrist position to consider men, as a class, to be irreformable or
rapists Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...
. In a 2016 article, individualist feminist
Cathy Young Catherine Alicia Young (born Yekaterina Jung russian: Екатерина Юнг; born February 10, 1963) is a Russian-born American journalist. Young is primarily known for her writing about feminism and other cultural issues, as well as about R ...
described a "current cycle of misandry" in feminism. This cycle, she explains, includes the use of the term "
mansplaining ''Mansplaining'' (a blend word of ''man'' and the informal form ''splaining'' of the gerund ''explaining'') is a pejorative term meaning (of a man) "to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often in ...
" and other neologisms using "man" as a derogatory prefix.


Criticism of the concept

Sociologist Allan G. Johnson argues in '' The Gender Knot: Unraveling our Patriarchal Legacy'' that accusations of man-hating have been used to put down feminists and to shift attention onto men, reinforcing a male-centered culture. Johnson posits that culture offers no comparable anti-male ideology to
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 practice ...
and that "people often confuse men as individuals with men as a dominant and privileged category of people" and that " iven thereality of women's oppression, male privilege, and men's enforcement of both, it's hardly surprising that ''every'' woman should have moments where she resents or even hates men". Marc A. Ouellette argues in ''International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities'' that "misandry lacks the systemic, transhistoric, institutionalized, and legislated antipathy of misogyny"; in his view, assuming a parallel between misogyny and misandry overly simplifies relations of gender and power. Gilmore also argues that misogyny is a "near-universal phenomenon" and that there is no male equivalent to misogyny. He argues that misandry is "different from the intensely ''ad feminam'' aspect of misogyny that targets women no matter what they believe or do".
Michael Kimmel Michael Scott Kimmel (born February 26, 1951) is an American retired sociologist specializing in gender studies. He was Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University in New York and is the founder and editor of the academic jour ...
states of misogyny and misandry that "claiming some sort of equivalent parallel is, of course, utterly tendentious".


See also

* Airline seating sex discrimination controversy * '' Are All Men Pedophiles?'' *
Bachelor tax A bachelor tax is a punitive tax imposed on unmarried men. In the modern era, many countries do vary tax rates by marital status, so current references to bachelor taxes are typically implicit rather than explicit; and given the state of tax la ...
* Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! controversy *
Circumcision controversies Male circumcision has been a subject of controversy for a number of reasons including religious, ethical, sexual, and medical. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the primary justification for circumcision was to prevent masturbatio ...
*
Female chauvinism Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism ...
*
Gynocentrism Gynocentrism is a dominant or exclusive focus on women in theory or practice. Anything can be gynocentric when it is considered exclusively with a female point of view in mind. Etymology The term ''gynocentrism'' is derived from ancient Greek, γ ...
*
Male expendability Male expendability, male disposability, the relative expendability argument, or the expendable male hypothesis is the idea that male lives are of less concern to a population than female lives. From a reproductivity standpoint, in most vertebrat ...
* Male genital mutilation *
Men's studies Men's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning men, masculinity, gender, culture, politics and sexuality. It academically examines what it means to be a man in contemporary society. Origins Sociologists and ...
*
Reverse sexism Reverse sexism is a controversial term for discrimination against men and boys or for anti-male prejudice. Often, the debate surrounding reverse sexism involves the innate definition of sexism, for example, whether the concept of sexism itself ...
*
Separatist feminism Feminist separatism is the theory that feminist opposition to patriarchy can be achieved through women's separation from men.Christine Skelton, Becky Francis, ''Feminism and the Schooling Scandal'', Taylor & Francis, 2009 ,p. 104 Because much o ...
*
TERF TERF () is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. First recorded in 2008, the term was originally used to distinguish trans-inclusive feminists from a group of radical feminists who reject the assertion that trans women are wom ...
* Testosterone poisoning


References

Sources * *


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * * article critical of the use of the term *
"Lay off men, Lessing tells feminists"
by Fiachra Gibbons, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 14 August 2001 {{Authority control Gender-related prejudices Prejudice and discrimination by type Sexism