Misandry

Misandry (IPA ) is contempt for men. While usually ascribed to women, it may also appear in men themselves. The word comes from Greek misos "hatred" + andros "man". It is less discussed and less well-known than its counterpart misogyny.

This term is sometimes used interchangeably with misanthropy but that is not correct usage, as misanthropy refers to hatred of humanity in general. Androphobia is the fear of men, but it is not an exact synonym of misandry.

There is a suggestion from both feminists and masculists that the "war of the sexes" arising from traditional gender roles and their breakdown are the primary source of both misogyny and misandry.

Some masculists maintain that misandry has been endemic since the 1980s (Nathanson & Young, 2001, p. 234) due to the spread of feminist advocacy in popular culture, and thus assert that misandry has become a social pathology. On the other hand, some feminists believe misogyny to be a verifiable social disease but are skeptical of the existence of misandry as an identifiable phenomenon (Nathanson & Young, 2001, p. 18), despite significant differences in the treatment of the sexes in employment, criminal and family laws.

Degrees of misandry

Misandry may be exhibited in differing degrees. In its most overt expression, a misandrist will openly hate all men simply because they are men. Other forms of misandry may be more subtle. Some misandrists may simply hold all men under suspicion, or may hate men who do not fall into one or more acceptable categories. Entire cultures may be said to be misandrist if they treat men in ways that can be seen as hurtful.

Misandry is a negative attitude towards men as a group, and as such need not fully determine a misandrist's attitude towards each individual man. The fact that someone holds misandrist views may not prevent them from having positive relationships with some men. Conversely, simply having positive relationships with some men does not necessarily mean someone does not also hold misandrist views.

Misandry in mythology

The Amazons of Ancient Greek Mythology, were a nation of women warriors. The primary depictions generally focus on role-reversal, swapping the classical Greek ideals of "female" passivity and dependence for "male" strength and ability. In some versions, the Amazons display misandry through actions such as forbidding men to reside in Amazon country; killing their male offspring (the result of their yearly mating with the all-male Gargarean tribe) or exiling them to return to the Gargarean fathers (Strabo xi. p. 503). The women of Lemnos, filling a similar role in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, commit acts of mariticide and patricide and proceed to rule their island themselves.

However, these are the exceptions to the classic tale. In other tellings, the Amazons are simply a target of male conquest, as in the tale of Heracles and Theseus attempting to obtain the girdle of the Amazonian queen Hippolyte (Apollodorus ii. 5). Furthermore, some tales (e.g. both of the previous) conclude with Amazons welcoming, marrying, or congenially procreating with the male heroes.
Most modern (20th century) depictions, on the other hand, are not misandric at all. Instead, the modern Amazon is treated sympathetically and is a character whose respect and cooperation the male heroes are challenged to earn. (See Modern Depictions of Amazons.)

Misandry in popular culture

An analysis of popular culture (eg. literature, television, film, greeting cards, comics, advertisements) provides examples of misandry in modern western society, such as:

general neglect of male issues (such as male depression, the fact men commit suicide approximately 4 times more often than womenconstitute over 90% of the prison population ^*, drug addicts, homeless people, have lower levels of university attendance and life expectancy etc.)
depictions of men as being sex-crazed and overbearing
attitudes where women are superior to men (including, think better, make better choices, elect better candidates)
depictions in sitcoms and advertising of bumbling male ineptitude (especially fathers)
descriptions where the body count as described as "there were X fatalities, including Y women and children" is argued to reduce the value of the adult male lives lost.

The controversial French movie Baise Moi (2000) is sometimes cited as an example of a film which has attitudes of blatant misandry; two women go on a sexual and murderous rampage of various men they encounter. A similar film by Russ Meyer entitled Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! was released in 1965. The T-shirt slogan "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them" has been criticised by some as supporting misandry.

It is also sometimes argued that misandry is present in children's culture, most notably with the saying:

"Slugs and snails and puppy dogs' tails - that's what little boys are made of. Sugar and spice and all things nice - that's what little girls are made of."

While modern gender-neutral language has changed gender-positive statements in popular narratives, such as in the case of Star Trek's 'to boldly go where no man has gone before' becoming 'to boldly go where no one has gone before'; expressions which may be interpreted as pejorative, such as The Shadow's "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" remain unchanged: "Anyone who's ever dated one" was then added by Entertainment Weekly (Nathanson & Young, 2001, p. 234) illustrating the allowability of misandry to be expressed in popular humor.

In Are Men Necessary?: When Sexes Collide (Putnam, 2005) Maureen Dowd claims that men are afraid of a strong female identity and rallies against men who are 'becoming extinct' and comparing them to 'ornamentation'. In an interview about the book on The Colbert Report, Dowd denied the book is meant to be misandric, saying the answer to the titular question "is obviously yes", but there are a variety of other examples of similarly abrasive titles, as well as commentators who would claim that Dowd's overall answer to the titular question is not "obviously yes".

Federal laws that require males to register for a military draft at age 18 but do not make the same national service requirement of females when they reach the age of majority. Federal, state, and local laws that prevent men of age 18 who have not registered for a military draft from receiving benefits such as educational funding and a driver's license.

State laws that make the felony of statutory rape applicable to 18 year old males who have consentual sex with a 17 or 16 year old female.

State laws that silently and automatically remove an absent father's legal right to future legal custody of his child. For example, laws that allow a baby to be placed into adoption without the father's notification or consent.

Laws that require parental notification for abortions after the first trimester but do not require paternal notification for abortions after the first trimester.

Public school athletic programs that permit females to play on competitive try-out boys teams while maintaining seperate, sex-segregated teams for girls. For example, a girl may be permitted to play on a top-ranked boys' team while other team sports will continue to allow only females as team members. A school with sex-segregated teams such as boys' varisty, boys' junior varsity, girls' varsity and girls' junior varsity should, if it wishes to allow females on the boys' teams, convert all teams to co-educational try-outs for school teams 1, 2, 3, and 4. This permits access to all teams for all students based on skill rather than sex.

Research into misandry is comparatively new and often controversial, and yet a body of work is emerging in current cultural theory (see Biliography below).

Misandry in feminist literature

Some feminist literature contains elements which could be interpreted as being misandrous.

"Marriage is an institution developed from rape as a practice."

"The penis must embody the violence of the male in order for him to be male. Violence is male; the male is the penis; violence is the penis..."

Andrea Dworkin, Pornography

"Men's need to dominate women may be based in their own sense of marginality or emptiness."

"While men strut and fret their hour upon the stage, shout in bars and sports arenas, thump their chests or show their profiles in the legislatures, and explode incredible weapons in an endless contest for status, an obsessive quest for symbolic 'proof' of their superiority, women quietly keep the world going."

"He can beat or kill the woman he claims to love; he can rape women, whether mate, acquaintance, or stranger; he can rape or sexually molest his daughters, nieces, stepchildren, or the children of a woman he claims to love. The vast majority of men in the world do one or more of the above."

Marilyn French, the War Against Women

Bibliography

Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture; Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 2001; ISBN 0-7735-2272-7

Legalizing Misandry: From Public Shame to Systemic Discrimination against Men; Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 2006; ISBN 0-7735-2862-8

The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men; Christina Hoff Sommers, Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 2001; ISBN 0-6848-4957-7

The War Against Men; Richard T. Hise, Elderberry Press, LLC, 2004, ISBN 1-9308-5961-9

Domestic Violence: The 12 Things You Aren't Supposed to Know; Thomas P. James, Aventine Press, 2003, ISBN 1-5933-0122-7

The Myth of Male Power, Warren Farrell, Berkley Trade, 2001, ISBN 0-4251-8144-8

The Decline of Males: The First Look at an Unexpected New World for Men and Women; Lionel Tiger, Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press, 2000, ISBN 0-3122-6311-2

External links

Prejudices | Gender | Sexism | Human sexuality