Misogyny is a term that describes any form of hate towards the females based on their feminine qualities. Misogynistic tendencies can be found in both the female and males. Manifestation of this behavior has been propounded by the technological developments especially the growth of social media and internet. Accordingly, it is important to explore why women would tend to be more misogynistic than their male counterparts especially when they are using online social platforms.
Online misogynistic behavior in women can be explained by psychology. For women, it is easy to get inured to patriarchal sexist tendencies that demean women and glorify men at the former’s expense. For a long time, the responsibility of early parenting has been left to women who provide care for the young children (Chesterton, 2018). This means that mothers are the people most of children are dependent on. Women internalize this attitude when they individuate because they grow to be mothers (Chesterton, 2018). Men on the other hand, repress the fear and rage that result from being cut from the mother’s dependency. The described phenomenon explains why some women have been accustomed to the negative masculinity that they cannot fathom why some other women cannot accept their inferior place in the male dominated social sphere. As a result, these women hate themselves and other women as well and that explains why they spew vitriol against other women in all social media spaces.
In summary, exploration of the female misogynistic attitudes and acts in online platforms is best done from the psychological viewpoints. Comparatively, women tend to get more accustomed to behaviors that elevate men than the male ones. The internalization behavior that leads to makes the woman more inclined to hate other women is propagated by the indigenous social behaviors that have placed women at the apex of early parenting.
Response
Misogyny is a terminology that describes hatred that is directed to women based on some societal norms and traditions. Notably, the hatred is not an innate trait but rather shaped by environmental factors such as the mentioned practices. It should also be noted that the traditional practices being referred to propagate the male dominance perpetuate discrimination towards women. As such, any woman who wants to rise above the said practices is deemed to be a misfit by other women, and this explains the misogynistic behavior of women in social spheres.
Generally, misogynistic tendencies become more pronounced when a woman’s action is viewed from the patriarchal lenses. From patriarchal viewpoint, there exist some expectations which a woman is expected to abide by failure to which she faces prejudice and discrimination as forms of corrective measures (Canto et al., 2017). This situation may seem incomprehensible especially when a woman is facing hatred from other women. Arguably, jealousy can be attributed to this kind of female misogynistic behaviors. Jealousy stems from the fact that women who are misogynistic may be trapped in some situations that expect them to express themselves but they are not able compared to other women who have done that (Canto et al., 2017). As a result, they become envious of the latter who are able to express themselves fully. Therefore, social media just provides such misogynistic women with a platform to vent out their frustrations towards other women.
In summary, the misogynistic tendencies in women can be attributed to jealousy. This negative emotional feeling stems from the women wishing that they were like the ones they are envying. The feeling grows even worse when the women who are envied are successful. In essence, hatred is precipitated by the ability to break away from the societal norms that are subjugative. Indeed, online media and internet gives impetus for such hatred to be manifested.
References
Canto, J., Alvaro, J., Pereira, C., Garrido, A., Torres, A., & Pereira, M. (2017). Jealousy, gender, and culture of honor: A study in Portugal and Brazil. The Journal of Psychology, 151(6), 580-596, Web.
Chesterton, G. (2018). Men hating women: A look into the psychology of misogyny. GQ State of Man. Web.