Written by Queenie-Michelle Asare-Gyan
What is misogynoir? Why is it different from misogyny? And to be honest, what is misogyny?
The world is run by the patriarchy, a societal hierarchy in which men dominate, make the rules, set standards, and lead social norms. Because we live in a male dominated society, women have to face more challenges set in place by the patriarchy that make their everyday lives all the more difficult. This is because for centuries and millennia, men have carried and perpetrated the belief system of sexism.
Sex·ism
/ˈsekˌsizəm/
Noun
prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.
It was because of sexism that white women couldn’t vote until the 1920s. It was because of sexism that women could not take out credit cards in their own names but needed to take them out in their husbands’ names until the later half of the 20th century. This was because the patriarchy did not see women as intellectual equals to men--due to sexism. But those were systematic actions performed by the patriarchy; sexism is a system, as is anything that ends in the suffix ‘-ism’. There are also social actions taken by the patriarchy through another ideology known as misogyny.
Mi·sog·y·ny
/məˈsäjənē/
noun
dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.
Rarely seen in sexism, misogyny can also be practiced within women, a phenomenon known as internalized misogyny. Misogyny in modern day society presents itself in so many ways: rape culture, slut shaming, the doubting of sexual assault victims, hatred of teenage girls, ‘pick me’ culture and much more. Misogyny, as said by Heather Savigny--the writer of Sexism and Misogyny, can be argued to be the more violent expression of sexism. Sexism refuses to let women enter society, misogyny allows women in as long as they meet criteria of the patriarchy, otherwise they are a spectacle for mistreatment, abuse, and ridicule. It is the micromanagement and destruction of the vision that is a woman according to the desires of men.
Many girls are introduced to misogyny at a very young age, specifically in elementary school when they are harassed by their boy counterparts and told that boys flirt through said harassment. It is a way to teach girls to mute themselves from a young age; basically this engrains the idea that boys can do whatever they please and there are no restrictions on their actions, the world is their playground. However, this characteristic of being or not being mute can later be used against girls.
Statistically, one out of five women recall having being raped or having had someone attempt to rape them in their lifetime according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Very few of these instances of rape get reported, fewer get indicted, fewer than that get charged, and very rarely do they receive lengthy punishments or even serve out their original punishment time. And yet when a woman comes out with her story about sexual assault, she is more likely to be faced with disbelief than belief. Some of the popular responses include questioning the victim’s choice of clothing, suggesting showing skin led to their assault; victim blaming and slut shaming is a product of the patriarchy. Then you have the second stage of victim blaming: ‘why didn’t you say something earlier’. Not only does this undermine the trauma of experiencing sexual assault-- something that can sometimes strip you of your sense of reality, humanity, dignity, self worth, and emotion-- but it also is frustrating considering that women were taught during their childhood not to use their voices as a way to not intimidate men. In the song Flawless by Beyonce, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s excerpt in the song addresses this stating:
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller…” and then later “...otherwise you will threaten the man.”
This projection of fault on the victim is a perfect example of the patriarchy destroying the vision of a woman, as in instances like this, it makes it apparent that the woman is not worthy of justice because she did not act quickly enough. Lastly, there is the absolute denial, stating that the woman is lying in an effort to ruin the reputation of the person she says assaulted her. Usually, the person in question is a man, and this method is used to destroy the image of the woman, specifically painting her as a liar and a fraud, while maintaining the ‘innocence’ of men to ensure a stable life for them in the future.
There are subtler forms of misogyny, for example, the hatred of teenage girls was listed earlier on. It’s the practice of ridiculing or questioning everything that teen girls find interesting to tear them down. We see this most recently in the ridicule of teenage girls and young women who believe in horoscopes, crystals, and witchcraft. This ridicule is popular on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Last summer, on TikTok, it became very popular for teenage boys to ridicule and shame teenage girls for attempting to learn to skateboard, calling them 'posers' and saying they were only skating because it was a trend and part of their aesthetic. And while there may be some girls who tried to learn to skate because they were convinced by their TikTok ‘for you pages’, this shaming discourages girls who want to learn how to skate for enjoyment. It created a stigma that young girls were not allowed to enjoy anything. When teenage girls would wear a shirt with a band’s name on it, they were subject to quizzes on the band’s entire discography. They were given little to no peace--every small part of their lives and expression was up for criticism. And not only were young boys the ones at the center of this ridicule, but so were young girls with internalized misogyny, known as ‘pick me’ girls.
Pick me girls are girls or women who join in perpetuating misogyny towards other women all for the validation of men or to get ‘picked’. The unknowingly further misogyny, a practice that will more than likely orbit back to misfortune them at some point in their lives. There are so many different types of pick me people, but they all serve the same purpose-- inconveniencing their own people for their short term personal benefit.
Women all over the world face and deal with misogyny in one form or another, however, not all women face misogynoir.
Misogynoir
[ mi-soj-uh-nwar, mahy‐ ]
Noun
the specific hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice directed toward Black women (often used attributively):
Misogynoir can be described as where racism and sexism collide. In an essence misogynoir is the mistreatment or dislike towards Black women because they are both Black and women. The term came about in 2010, created by queer Black activist Moya Bailey. Bailey combined ‘misogyny’ with the French word for black ‘noir’ to create the term meaning misogyny rooted in racism. Some examples of misogynoir would be the rapid societal aging and hypersexualization of Black girls. Black girls are seen as older sooner than their non-black counterparts are. A product of the hypersexualization of the bodies of young Black girls can be seen in the sexual assault rate of Black girls; 1 in 4 Black girls are sexually abused before the age of 18 (National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community). The origins of this hypersexualization can be found as early as slavery when White men would justify sexually assaulting young Black girls under the guise they they had untameable sexual desires. Many social tropes and stereotypes surrounding Black women are rooted in misogynoir as well. The ‘angry Black woman’ or the ‘ratchet Black woman’ are some of the many tropes out there, all of them negative to an extent as it does not show the uniqueness or individuality that Black women have. Misogynoir is practiced inside and outside of the Black community, maximizing its effects.
So, what is misogynoir? Misogynoir is the embodiment of what happens when society refuses to dismantle two disastrous belief systems, sexism and racism. Why is it different from misogyny? Misogyny does not rely on another belief system to exist, it thrives solely off the recruitment of more members, regardless of their gender or sex. As long as the individual is taking time out of their day to inflict misery upon women, misogyny will continue to flourish. As a stubborn society we refuse to ‘see color’, acknowledge differences in treatment, or listen to victims. The longer we carry these mentalities the longer sexism, racism, misogyny, and misogynoir will exist. It is time to accept interpersonal biases and to persevere from them, to teach the right things to youth instead of feeding the flame. Otherwise, we can refrain from calling ourselves a progressing society, since it will be clear then that we have no intentions of doing so.