Misogeny is an overarching woman-hating, woman-harming tenet of society. Feminism centrally attempts to first bring attention to all misogenist elements of society, therefore all social occurences or constructs that are causing violence to women. Feminism then attempts to elminiate these structures that cause harm.

Radical feminists see elimination of the overwhelming social structures of patriarchy and misogeny as critical and necessary for the equality of women to ever be achieved.
Misogyny: Prejudice against women. Hatred of females.

Misogyny is one of a set of words constructed from a prefix, one of Phil- or Mis- meaning to love/like or hate/dislike, a middle part, one of -Gyn-, -Andr- or -Anthrop- meaning women, men or people in general and a suffix -ist, -y, -ism indicating the part of speech, ie practitioner, concept and practice respectively.

see also Philogyny (love of women), Misandry (hatred of men), Philandry (love of men), Misanthropy (hatred of people) and Philanthropy (love of people); misogynist and misogynistic.


I don't believe that misogyny is a tenet of society (which society?). If you buy the hardline feminist rhetoric, then misogyny is an implicit unspoken value inherent in the system of many cultures, even to a lesser extent in American and European ones. However it is not a tenet, which would imply that it is explicit.

I'd personally prefer to regard it as a sad flaw in some men.

Mi*sog"y*ny [Gr. : cf. F. misogynie.]

Hatred of women.

Johnson.

 

© Webster 1913.

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