[Content note: misogynistic slurs]
I've seen a few things lately referencing internalized misogyny as less egregious than male sexism and therefore not deserving of public shame or calling out. (Mostly in reference to projects like my Tumblr.)
I've seen a few things lately referencing internalized misogyny as less egregious than male sexism and therefore not deserving of public shame or calling out. (Mostly in reference to projects like my Tumblr.)
As the title of this post so succinctly summarizes, I have absolutely no problem calling out women who are deeply misogynistic. I agree that if we are creating some arbitrary scale of "awfulness" women who have internalized misogyny aren't "as bad" as men who are flat out misogynistic. But that fact isn't a good enough reason for me to give all women a pass on the sexist stuff they say.
Peruse the "sexism: ladies do it too" or "internalized misogyny" tags on my Tumblr for a moment. Or better yet, just take a look at these choice gems:
 |
| [Female tweet that reads "I don't like most other females. They are bitchy, jealous, stuck up, sluts, or just fucking stupid."] |
 |
| [Female Facebook comment: "Get off his dick you attention craving slut. Seek attention from someone who's single.] |
 |
| [Female Tumblr post: "Sorry. I'm only a feminist when it comes to me. 95% of women are fucking stupid. I'm not being sexist i'm (sic) just realistic."] |
Listen, I am going to call this stuff out. Yes, I am ultimately more concerned about the hate-filled and frequently violent misogyny that comes from many men in this world, but I'm not going to look the other way on this stuff because it's posted by girls and women. Why in the world should we implicitly affirm misogyny when it comes from a woman? We won't get anywhere unless we take the time to call out and examine all sexist comments.
I'm sick of girl on girl hate, the continued disparagement of femininity, encouragement of "cat fights," and the special snowflake syndrome BS. Really. I'm over it. So sorry, not sorry.
I'm not saying that these women deserve some kind of horrible punishment, but internalized misogyny must be addressed and understood. Let me put it this way, who wins when we ignore it? What message are we sending younger girls who observe this behavior going unchecked?
One of my first fb delections was a friend of mine who was all internalized misogyny, hated feminists, and thought all women were stupid (except her, of course)
ReplyDeleteIt always seems to me like the women with these attitudes think they are winning points in the patriarchy.
Yep, totally. The internalized misogyny goes so deep that they try to distance themselves from other women by putting them down.
Delete