Misogyny: Hard to Pronounce;Easy to Practice. That's Why We Prefer Feminism!

Feminism is a political and philosophical movement that calls for equality between males and females. Feminists fight for the equality that women have been denied in the past such as the right to vote, own property, and reproductive rights like the right to access contraception and prenatal care. The feminist movement began in the early 19^th century when the Seneca Falls convention was held to outline that women’s right movement. Throughout the 19^th century there were as series of conventions and laws passed that advocated equality between genders. During the 20^th century the FDA approved birth control pills and the Planned Parenthood Association was formed along with other achievements such as women suffrage and an increase in the number of females in the work force. Support for the feminist movement grew and more feminist organizations emerged to advocate equality between the sexes.

To put it in simple terms, Misogyny is the hatred of women. It has existed since the start of Greek literature, and the word itself originated from the Greek term misogunia, misos meaning hatred and gynē meaning woman. Many misogynists as well as misogynistic works, whether they be literary, media, or art, focus on the negative qualities of women and portray women to be weak, foolish/unintelligent, materialistic, sex objects, self-centered, and uncaring. Misogyny, in its many forms, is hard to spot because it is disguised by satire, “comedy” and “humor”. Some literary works of misogyny are Pride and Prejudice, A Doll’s House, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice portrays a female misogynist, and even though her misogynist actions are unintentional, her role in the novel is centered around the fact that she just wants to marry her daughters off to wealthy men rather than encourage them to look for a good man that they love. Torvald Helmer, in A Doll’s House, is depicted as a man who loves to control his wife and won’t let her have any control in their marriage/household. Even though he is a misogynist in some sense, many people can argue the fact that he just wanted to protect his wife and had her best interest at heart. Misogyny in A Streetcar Named Desire, Stanley is an extreme misogynist due to his macho nature; he doesn’t want any woman having control over him, and this is clear when Blanche comes into his life and slowly starts taking control of things. He goes berserk on many occasions, beating and yelling at Stella, and in the end, rapes Blanche and sends her to a mental institution, ultimately degrading her. In today’s society, many rap/hip hop artists exploit women as sex objects in their music as well as their music videos, and unfortunately, it has become acceptable to listen to and has started a long on-going trend in the hip hop/rap world.