Issues of Anti-Feminism: Then and Now

By Ella C.

October 31, 2021

You may be looking at the title of this article and think, “That’s a heavy topic!” “Should this be on the KLHS Newspaper?” or “Why is a freshman writing about such big topics?” Well, yes, yes, and yes! Misogyny, anti-feminism, and sexism are big problems and people of all ages should be writing about fixing the problem. To prepare for this article, I did some interviews, read some articles, and learned all about this issue to explain it to you.

Misogyny is the, “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.” 

Anti-feminism is, “(someone) who does not believe in the social or economic or political equality of men and women.” 

And sexism is, “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.” 

Some articles mix these or mention them together because they all relate to each other, but to fully understand the problem, these terms need to be specifically mentioned.

First, we need to understand how these terms and beliefs play out in today’s adult society. I conducted an interview with Lejoi Reese, the Art teacher at KLHS and she agreed that this was a problem in today’s society and commented on why it still is. 

“I think as time goes on, there’s been progression and positive directions when it comes to women’s rights and views on sexism and all of that, but it really starts from the older generations that are still using those old ways of thinking.”

  Lejoi is right; misogynistic, anti-feministic, and sexist beliefs were more widespread prior and it may be hard for some to change their ways of thinking. We even see these beliefs in politics, especially in older generations. Nina Renata Aron, a writer for the New York Times, states in their article “What does Misogyny look like?”, that “Unfortunately, violent misogyny is nothing new in politics.  Aron touches upon misogyny in politics and how older adults who have these misogynist views could really impact our society. This would be very devastating and can result in more cases like the recent Texas abortion ban.

  In a Guardian story last August, we see a similar statement saying, “Women’s self-harm is being fueled by misogyny.” A New York Times Op-Ed from December explored, “The Special Misogyny Reserved for Mothers.” Kim Schrier, a pediatrician running for Congress (now a Democratic congresswoman), flatly called Donald Trump “misogynist in chief” in a tweet last year.” Misogyny in politics is also mentioned in a “Why Social Science?” article “Because Misogyny is Still Alive and Well and Women Still Don’t ‘rule’ Equally to Men.” The authors state:

“We only need to look at the Vice Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence to see the way in which gender is used to undermine the ability of women to lead. Women candidates like Harris are often talked over and interrupted repeatedly by their male opponents. Unlike men who are interrupted, women can’t redirect the flow of conversation with a sharp reprimand (or a “just shut up, man”), but must find ways to do so while maintaining likability. When they act publicly, women politicians are often denigrated, as we heard Trump do to Senator Kamala Harris after the VP debate.”

The sexism and misogyny here just again convinces me that this is a big problem! With more opinions on how these beliefs still remain in politics, the overall problem just becomes less of a disagreement to solve. 

In today’s society among youth, there is more of a term called “internalized misogyny.” It means “ when women subconsciously project sexist ideas onto other women and even onto themselves.” Ella Dameron speaks about this term in their article “INTERNALIZED MISOGYNY: ‘PICK-ME GIRLS’ AND INTROSPECTION,” “Internalized misogyny sits within us all, whether we are conscious of it or not. It’s possibly more problematic than regular misogyny and has many not-so-fun outcomes. If all women could learn to not buy into these expectations, I believe we would come away better from it.” We see women being degraded subtly in our everyday lives – especially in the media, ” With recent terms from social media like “Pick me girl” or “Horse girls” which both are usually terms you don’t want to be called, as both are seen as '’weird’ and ‘annoying’. These terms made by teens, it makes sense that this would be more prominent in the teenage world. Internalized misogyny happens at any age, but with the internet and social media and just growing up, it seems to be more prevalent in younger people. Ria Parker states in their article on Youthcomm.org “Misogyny is everywhere, even in me..I joined my 9th-grade peers in calling a classmate in a tight dress a h*e. During lunch, the same girl was hanging out with a couple of boys and seemed to be flirting, even though she had gotten out of a relationship the day before. I nodded toward her and said to my friends, “Doesn’t she seem to be…” but my friends cut me off, nodding. They knew I was about to say “acting like a sl*t.” The internalized misogyny here is the hatred of women, by women, on their actions. Just because a girl was talking or possibly flirting with guys, doesn’t mean she deserves all those negative comments behind her back. Society’s stereotypes of how women should act are already misogynistic, and women and girls being taught them negatively impacts their lives, and other women’s lives. In this case, the misogynistic stereotype of women’s actions has already been integrated into Parker’s life, and now she’s using it to make fun of another woman. 

It seems to be a known fact that misogyny, anti-feminism, and sexism are still prominent beliefs in today’s society. In adults, it’s politics and in the workplace. Among youth, it’s at school, in society, and on the internet. From now on, we need to make sure new and old (to be revised..) laws, societal norms, and human rights are equal and fair.

Sources used:

Aron, Nina Renata. “What Does Misogyny Look like?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/style/misogyny-women-history-photographs.html.

Milton, Julia. “Because Misogyny Is Still Alive and Well and Women Still Don't ‘Rule’ Equally to Men.” Why Social Science?, Why Social Science?, 20 Oct. 2020, https://www.whysocialscience.com/blog/2020/10/20/because-misogyny-is-still-alive-and-well-and-women-still-dont-rule-equally-to-men. 

Parker, Ria. “Misogyny Is Everywhere, Even in Me.” Youth Communication, https://youthcomm.org/story/misogyny-is-everywhere-even-in-me/. 

Dameron, Ella. “Internalized Misogyny: 'Pick-Me Girls' and Introspection.” VOX ATL, 16 Apr. 2021, https://voxatl.org/internalized-misogyny-pick-me-girls-and-introspection/.