One of the men that I know referred to me as "bitch" one day and he about fell out of his chair when I looked at him and said "You may refer to me as 'Her Royal Majesty: Queen Evil Bitch' "

Good point. Dishonorable disrespectful people come in all sizes, shapes and genders.

Excellent summation. Well done.

The other word, you know, the *C* word, is the one I hate most. I wish there was a word that bad to call men. Dildo is the best I've been able to come up with, but that gives dildos a bad name.

I am less interested in whether anyone (male or female) dislikes women (or men)…but rather the way they handle their dislikes. Sometimes people are actually raised to dislike blacks, women, Jews, Italians, Americans…whatever. They certainly “can help it”…but sometimes it is difficult. But “disliking” any of those things does not give license to abuse or harass.

This misogyny thing gets out of hand at times. And “crying wolf” on the misogyny question often is as much a deathblow to attempts to fight it as the kind of boorish conduct in which misogynists engage.

I’m not blindnor naïve. I know goddam well that there are men who simply are not going to accept women in anything other than a servile, second class position. But because there are jerkoffs…does not mean that all men have to be considered jerkoffs.

There are some women (I can think of two right here in OS) who seem to make a career out of perceiving misogynistic behavior in every argument they have with a male.

Well…I am a guy who thinks that women and men should enjoy the same rights…and neither should be subjected to discrimination based on sex or gender. It is my opinion that women have historically been in the down position in that regard…and I intend to set most of my efforts toward making that situation better…making the conditions for women on this planet more fair.

Yes…misogynists do hurt the efforts to level the field. But so do the women who use the charge of misogyny as recklessly and needlessly as some women do.

I thank you for noticing this problem…and for speaking out on it, Ranting Boomer.

Thanks so much for pointing out that women struggle with misogyny as well as men. This sounds simplistic, but as long as men and women don't share in early childrearing, sexism is impossible to eradicate. If al women--whether mommy, grandma, nanny, day care teacher--are our first caregivers when we are babies and toddlers, we will inevitably hate and fear women as well as love them. We will see them as a threat to our autonomy.

Amen, ranting. And let's not forget that there are numerous man haters out there too. Hatred of any kind against a specific group or gender is rooted in ignorance. How that hatred manifests itself is what sets the people apart. This is all I will say on this subject and this is the only place I will say it.

Although I posted a piece in the misogyny segment, my biggest problem with the majority of blogs is that they deal with feminism -- not misogyny. Equal rights and misogyny are two distinctly different issues. I have never experienced misogyny in a corporate setting or, for that matter, anywhere than in my dealings with the catholic church. I am considering posting a new piece today, which I know will not be readily accepted by a large percentage of the women writers on OS. However, I am concerned enough that labeling every negative thing that happens to women as misogynistic is doing us more harm than good...so I'll take the chance of being burned.
R

So true, and it all leads to self hate. Well done.

Yup. This is such a one sided issue that most people don't know the word for a person who hates men. (it's, misandrist/misandry so you don't have to look it up, because I just did)

Most of the posts on the subject have been about domestic abuse, which is fine with me, but there are abusers that actually do love the women they are beating on. It's a complicated issue.

Yes, thank you for this. As an ex-gorgeous woman, I can say it's mostly jealousy that women have toward themselves, especially with their husbands present. But once I walked into a restaurant in Barcelona and ordered strawberries with cream (Oh, the food in Barcelona is divine.......) The presentation of the dish was perfect, however, it was topped with ground glass! Some pathetic creature in the kitchen wanted me to die a slow and agonizing death! It goes on and on. It's getting to be a bore, being treated badly by women who themselves look like an uncooked/burned biscuit. I enjoy the elegance of other women. But then those of us extraordinary women do.

Yup

Yep! xox

Women are so evil, we should ban their right to marry.

;-)

nice rant, boomer. woke me right up.

couldn't be clearer: it's all about hate. how to fix it is murkier. ++

Interestingly, it seems that the most common hate word men use upon one another seems to be cocksucker or faggot. So if they can't go after women, they'll go after gay men. But somehow, they still remain untouchable.

There's nothing really that harsh to call a man - not of the Cunt Caliber. "Dick" I suppose. That doesn't seem to pack the same wallop as cunt though. Nope.

Jesus...this is sounding more and more childish. Kids fighting; mother asks why they are fighting...one says "Because he was saying nah, nah, nah at me!"

If they call you a cunt...say "nah, nah, nah" at him. Maybe it'll work.

Good point. P.S.: A clever two-for-one post!

This is an impressive list of euphemisms for women. For some lesson with my eleventh graders--god knows what right now--we list names for men and women on the board. The men side is always so empty. You have some here for women I haven't seen in a while, so thanks for the updated lesson plan!

Frank A., if anyone calls me the C word again, I guess I'll try the "nah, nah, nah" thing, but I think I'd rather run over him with my car (only in my mind!).

I love it when you post, just love it.

Misogyny -- is not domestic abuse, though it can lead to it.
Misogyny -- is not sexism, though it can involve it

I appreciate your clarity.

ranting,
This was a balanced treatment of the subject. It is indefensible that women are discriminated against anywhere, for any reason. It is archaic and wickedly wrong. But the hatred of women, while clearly being primarily perpetrated by ignorant and arrogant males (as opposed to men) is not limited to males alone.

It's affirming to your post that the often misquoted text from Shakespeare in Hamlet, referred to earlier here, actually reads, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Rated and appreciated.

There you go, Ranting, bravo, name calling is actually serious. It depersonalizes us, makes misogyny easier.

Frank and Donna, I *have* experienced misogyny in a corporate setting. Literally the only woman among top management of three joint departments, 11 men and me, about half the men married, ages 30-50something.

One-on-one, most cordial and professional, some dismissive. In a group, dynamic changed. Conversations stopped when I entered the room for meetings, knowing and superior glances exchanged, 'little jokes' at my expense became more frequent, exasperation expressed if I posed a solution, begrudging envy greeted my every success.

Unfortunately there were too many successes. Turned out I had 3 friends in that room, one a Senior VP, my immediate boss. They told me what was said and spoke up for me, but couldn't stop it, was in fact part of the corp culture.

When the SVP put me up for promotion to his level (I was already better qualified and he was secure enough to want me recognized and paid for that), an Exec VP --parallel dept, no corp authority over either of us-- went out of his way to stop it. Told the SVP: "I don't want that bitch or any bitch to have more power. They have too much here already."

He's not with the company any more. Asshat.

Mrs. Raptor... nothing quite like turning an insult around, hey?

Dr. Spudman... that they do.

Shiral... thanks!

Flora... lol. (I hate that one, too. So crass)

Frank... Mislabeling is one of my pet peeves. Could you tell?

Redstocking Grandma... Boy, that could be fodder for a post in itself! I know a man that did all the early raising, changing poopy diapers, etc. and the kids grew up obviously sexist. But, the mommy is of the "I don't LIKE women" sort. It's more than just the child raising, but also the attitudes IN the home.

Cartouche... spot on, as usual.

Donna... I'll go check out your post. I have experienced mysogyny in the workforce, but will save that for a comment on yours. :)
(P.S. Controversy gets eyeballs!)

Zuma... I'm not sure if it leads to self hate or stems from it. Not sure it matters which, though. Good point, though, because that's always in there, too.

Michael... very complicated, indeed. And yes, there's just as much of the other, too. Flip sides of a sad coin.

Penrose... yes, the competition for men can be an ugly and primitive thing that some women just can't seem to understand, much less change.

Lisa... thanks for reading!

Robin... thanks, too. Love the new pic, btw!

JK... you're right, of course.

New #2... Indeed. But then, who would cook for the darlings? (lol)

femme forte... you're so right. Thanks for reading/posting. :)

Beth... *sigh* I know. Just nothing of that caliber. Nothing.

Frank... I find ignoring works better than nah, nah-ing.

AtHome Pilgrim... lol... Noticed that, did you?

Bonnie... In those situations, I like to tell people that actions speak louder than words. It's usually true (and a good stifle)

The Good daughter... lol. I love your blackboard lesson.

Wakingupslowly... That's a very nice compliment, especially from you!! Thanks. :)

Dennis... Discrimination is wrong, no matter whether it's women, ethic people, etc. When it stoops to hatred, it's a sad commentary on the humans perpetuating it. Thanks for visiting!

the "patriarchy" not only suppresses women, but it suppresses men. i don't think a bunch of new rules are going to stop anything... it is "rules" after all that are the problem.

LMAO (Laughing My Ass Off)
I LOVE this!!! It's so true too!!

Standing ovation!!

Ben... Not sure all men (or women) would agree that patriarchy suppresses men, but I think you're absolutely right.

Cassandra... LOL. Glad you saw the humor behind the piece. That made me grin a mile wide. Thanks!!

Angela... Thank you for appreciating my rant. :)

for every act of rejection by one sex there is a response in the other. in fact, unless there is agreement the patriarchy suppresses both sexes there can be no higher consciousness that will lead to its erosion and the emergence of a new paradigm. marion woodman is the prophet of the new matriarchy. i sugggest you take a close look at her work. without such breakthroughs, and people who are aware of it, the collective is reduced to spinning in circles biting its own tail and all that happens is there is more acrimony.

Ben... I'm going to look up marion woodman. But, do you think matriarchy is better than patriarchy? Wouldn't it be nice to have some type of middle ground, neither one nor the other? Just curious what you think.

we are dealing with archetypes here established for millenia that had a definitive reason for their creation at the time. most have no awareness whatsoever of what these forces are and how they control each and every of their assumptions and motivations. with that much to learn, it is impossible to judge what is "right" and "wrong" about them, let alone asking if a return to a more matriarchial paradigm is problamatic.