Misogyny from history to nowadays

Introduction

Approximately until the end of the 19 th century, one of the views that characterised society
consisted of considering women as being intellectually and psychologically inferior to men. They
were not allowed to participate in the public life education, politics and they were seen as subject to
men, having as main roles taking care of households and bearing children. Nowadays, after
continuous battles, movements towards gender equality, aiming to change this relationship between
men and women, women have gained their inherent position in society. Despite all of these and
considering all the progress humanity has made throughout time, even in 2016, when one could easily
assume that this type of behaviour disappeared, traces of it can still be found, even in areas as
important as politics.

This paper is made up of three chapters. The first part deals with misogyny through history, in
religion and in writings belonging to different philosophers. The second chapter contains a
presentation of gender equality movements, actions against misogyny, while the third component is
represented by a study case on the 2016 presidential elections in the United States, emphasizing the
behaviour of the president elected, his platform and the response of the voters towards him and his
opponent, Hillary Clinton.
 1. Misogyny and gender inequality historical overview

Misogyny, according to the Oxford dictionary, represents the dislike of, contempt for, or
ingrained prejudice against women. There are numerous ways in which feelings of hating women or
expressing the belief that men are better can be manifested, such as sex discrimination, androcentrism,
male privileges and violence against women.

This behaviour has been encountered throughout history, in religious writings and traditions
and also in the works of various philosophers from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud (19 th century
Austrian philosopher) and Oswald Spengler (20th century German philosopher).

In religion, stories such as the one with Adam and Eve promoted the mistrust in women,
portraying them as sinful, temptress and guilty of misleading and corrupting the ethical and noble
man, which resulted in condemning the whole humanity. Moreover, the idea that Eve was created by
God from Adams rib supported the view of some that men were superior.

1.1. Aristotle

In his writings Politics (Book 1), Aristotle describes the relationship between men and
women as subordinated, the male is by nature superior, and the female inferior, and the one rules and
the other is ruled. In his work, several other misogynistic references can be encountered. He believed
that the essence of men stood in commanding, while a woman is solely required to obey orders. In
Generation of Animals (paragraph 737a), the Greek philosopher highlights his belief that a woman
is as it were a deformed male, thus incomplete and not as developed.

1.2. Jean Jacque Rousseau

In the case of Jean Jacques Rousseau, many considered that the philosopher portrayed in his
work contradictory concepts regarding women.

On one hand, some feminists believe that he did not support the idea of women being
restricted by man, having limitations imposed to their freedom, while condemning the unfair
treatment women were subject to. Subjects like these were elaborated in this pro-feminist writing
About Women (Sur les femmes).

On the other hand, many accused him of misogyny, of promoting gender inequality. Take for
instance, Emile, writing in which he described methods for educating and shaping children. By
creating different chapters in most of the pages, he presented means of educating boys and in the
fifth chapter he brought up the subject of female education, Rousseau underlines the gap between
genders (mostly, based on different needs). Moreover, the philosopher showed a male-centred
rationale, illustrating women only in relation to the needs of men woman is specifically made for
mans delight, [], woman is made to please and to be in subjection to man.
 1.3. Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kants theory about the two sexes emphasized that they were completely different
and complementary. In his belief, men possessed masculine qualities, while women were
characterized by feminine qualities. Some of the main masculine attributes defined by him, which
could be found in his papers, were nobility, reflectiveness, depth, learning, profundity and the ability
to be principled. On the other hand, he viewed women as being more delicate, being delighted
whenever finding themselves in the centre of attention. He claimed that the fair sex had as much
understanding as men, however that understanding was characterized as a beautiful one, in
comparison to the deeper one of the male.

1.4. Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsches views on women, was, as Jean Jacque Rousseaus, ambivalent. In his
writings, he either praised or disrespected females. For example, in the first part of Thus Spoke
Zarathustra The friend, he claimed that women were represented by injustice and blindness, he
described their supposed inability of forming friendships, considering that their level was consistent
with that of a cat, bird, or at the best, cows. In Ecce Homo, he associated the goodness of women
with a sign of degeneration and in Beyond Good and Evil, the philosopher highlighted that, in his
vision, women symbolize irrationality, superficiality, obscurity and mystery. Numerous assertions of
his were shocking, offensive and stereotypical towards women. For instance, nothing has been more
alien, repugnant, and hostile to woman than truthher great art is the lie, her highest concern is mere
appearance and beauty, implying their lack of truthfulness, depth, their interest in fading
characteristics, superficiality and perhaps narcissism. Furthermore, he talked about the preservation of
hierarchies regarding males and females, hierarchies which had been in place for ages, considering
that if women were to become equal to men and were to stop fearing them, they would lose their
feminine instincts. However, many believed that his words could be easily taken out of context, that
statements could not be simply extracted from his books and interpreted, that a deeper understanding
was required in order to see that he was not sexist or women-hating. For example, there were cases, as
mentioned before, in which he appreciated and complimented certain qualities in women. In Ecce
Homo, he wrote the following passage Woman is incalculably more wicked than man, she is also
cleverer and in the seventh part of Human, All Too Human Woman and Child, he claimed that
the perfect woman is superior, a higher type of human being compared to perfect man.

1.5. Sigmund Freud

Even though Sigmund Freud admitted to never having understood women, he supported, in
his workings, his belief that they were inferior to men. In fact, Freud opposed to the womens
emancipation movement and believed that womens decisions and, consequently their lives were lead
only by their reproductive functions. When asked about womens desires, he claimed that women
opposed change, were passive receivers and had nothing of their own to add. Ironically enough was
the fact that even though he thought very little of women, a lot of women played a very important role
in his development of psychoanalysis. Even after his demise, his daughter, Anna Freud, had a critical
role and contributed to advancing his theories regarding child psychoanalysis.

1.6. Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was also one of the philosophers considered to be misogynistic. He believed
that women were less evolved than men and that, given their smaller brain size, they were destined to
be eternally primitive, childlike, less spiritual and more materialistic. Moreover, this contributed to his
vision that females were a threat to contemporary civilization. The central mechanism for evolution,
according to Darwin, was survival of the fittest. Weaker species had a greater chance to become
extinct. His reasons for the male superiority included the fact that only the fit and brave would return
back from hunting and reproduce. Meanwhile, women were not exposed to such types of activities, as
they were left back home, being protected by men.

1.7. Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, thought of women as being not as evolved as

men, too. His belief was that women were not created to undergo great labour, related to neither the
mind, nor the body. The role of women in life, according to Schopenhauer, was to take care of the
children and to be under her husbands submission. In his theory, women were perfectly fitted to be
the nurses and teachers for children, especially given the fact, that he considered them as childish,
frivolous and short-sighted noticing how women acted around children, how they played with them,
sang to them. In his vision, one of the most important qualities a woman should possess are being
patient and a cheering companion to her spouse.

1.8. Oswald Spengler

Oswald Spengler, a German philosopher, focused on the distinction between Reason and
Nature, comparing it with the difference between males and females. In order to establish this
difference, he offered a brief human history, having somewhat a resemblance to Darwins views
regarding women. Spengler saw men as conquerors, while the duty of women consisted of staying at
home with the children.
2. Pro-equality movements, anti-misogyny actions

Institutions around the world have defined gender equality in terms of human rights,
especially womens rights. UNICEF has attributed the following meaning to gender equality: it
means that women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and
protections. It does not require neither men nor women to be exactly the same, or to be treated
exactly alike.

UNPF (United Nations Population Fund) stated that in spite of the fact that various
international agreements support their human rights, women are still much more prone to be poor and
illiterate than men. They have more limited access to property ownership, credit, training and/or
employment. Additionally, despite all of the progress that took place in the world they are far more
likely to be victims of domestic violence and far less likely to be politically active.

With these thoughts in mind, it could be said that promoting gender equality regarding
education and supporting women to a greater extent, professionally speaking, could lead to a greater
economic prosperity. For instance, in a 2008 United Nations sponsored report, the Arab World has
been criticised about its denial of equal opportunity for men and women. This disempowerment of
women was considered to be a crippling factor for the nation in terms of gaining the first rank of
global leaders in commerce, learning and culture.

In 2010, in Vilnius, Lithuania, the European Union opened the EIGE (European Institute for
Gender Equality), having as sole purpose the promotion of gender equality and fight against sex
discrimination.

Nowadays being a serious issue, gender equality has become part of the national curriculum
in schools in Great Britain and also in many other European countries. For example, Personal, Social
and Health Education, religious studies and Language acquisition courses are specially designed to
address gender inequality issues, as these represent very serious topics. They were created in order to
allow students to discuss and analyse the impact of gender inequality on society.

Numerous researchers demonstrated that gender inequality undermines both health and also
national and international development. A solution for overcoming gender inequality was provided by
the UNPF (United Nations Population Fund). It have stated that empowering women and promoting
gender equality implies the development of strategic interventions at all levels of programming and
policy-making. These levels include health, economic, educational and political empowerment.

2.1. Violence against women

When referring to violence against women one describes all the acts that are committed
primarily or exclusively against women. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence Against women has defined violence against women as being any act of gender-based
violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring
in public or in private life.

The UN have often stated that cruelty against women represents a manifestation of the
historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination and
discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.

The root of violence against women is considered to be the fact that various cultural groups
have accepted this type of brutality as a means of conflict resolution in intimate relationships. Several
studies conducted in the United States of America have shown that immigrants represent a high risk
group, prone to such conduct within their households.

Forms of cruelty against women include sexual violence, whether it is marital, as a result of
force consumption of drugs and alcohol, also domestic violence, female genital mutilation, forced
marriage, forced prostitution, dowry killings, forced abortion and sterilization and sex trafficking.
Also, mistreatment of widows is also considered as an act of attack against women.

In Western countries, the number of felonies such as the ones mentioned above is rather low
in comparison to other countries. Studies show that, in this part of the world, most women who are
being killed, find their demise at the hand of their current or former partners. Between 2004 and 2009,
statistics demonstrated that 80% of the women murdered in France, Cyprus and Portugal, died after
being assaulted by their partners or ex-partners. By contrast, there are also cases in countries or
regions where organized crime activities and gang violence is a common thing, in which women are
murdered in public spaces, often in a general climate of indifference and impunity. According to
UNPF, in some parts of the world, brutality against women is tolerated and considered as part of
everyday events. Actions such as wife-beating, killing in the name of honour and so on and so forth
are believed to be part of the natural order of things, in some developing countries. Moreover, in some
regions, mostly in the Pacific Islands, brutality against women is just a form of vengeance. For
example, several males will deliberately rape a female only to spite the womans family, in order to
get revenge on male members of the family.

2.2. Access to education for females girls and women

There are not few parts of the world in which females rights to education are restricted. In
developing parts of the world women are often denied opportunities to study and gain proper
knowledge. Some of the issues they face, thus not allowing them to benefit from a full academic
education consist of forced marriages, early pregnancy and even stereotypes which they face at home.
Another aspect that stands in their way to achieve their full potential at school might also be
represented by the fees some institutions charge. In this case, families with both girls and boys might
decide to send only their sons to school. Also some approaches and materials discussed in classrooms
lack gender sensitivity.

Regarding girls access to education the United Nations Population Fund had to say: "About
two thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women. Womens access to both opportunities and
education is restricted by improper or even lack of education. It is considered that if womens
educational attainment were to be increased, would benefit individuals and generations to follow, as
studies have shown a strong, indirect correlation between the levels of womens education, infant
mortality and fertility as well as direct association between their education and their childrens lives
and future.

2.3. Freedom of movement

Consequently, the degree to which women can participate in public life varies from one
culture to another, historical era and other socioeconomic characteristics. Seclusion of women within
their homes was a common practice amongst upper classes in many societies, still being encountered,
in our days, in some parts of the world.

In addition to laws, womens lack of freedom of movement can also be restricted by social,
religious norms and traditions. Examples relating to this can be seen in purdah, a social and
religious practice of female seclusion found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Another example is called
Rajput, found in Northern India, which implies minimizing female movement in public spaces, also
restricting them from social and professional interactions. Additionally, in Yemen, marriage
regulations state that a woman cannot walk around the city unless she is accompanied by her husband
or by a close relative who must be a male.

In most countries, since recent decades started violence against women (in particular when
committed in the family) to receive significant legal attention.

2.4. Gender stereotypes

Gender stereotypes arise from the socially approved roles men and women have in public, their
households or at the workplace. For instance, females are seen as mother figures, being more carrying,
being classified as nurturing and thus taking the primarily chores of the household. On the other hand,
men are seen as being ambitious, the bread-winners of the house. It is because of stereotypical
conceptions why some women in the workplace, being most of the times harassed and/or deprived
from leadership positions that they have earned and deserve in their companies.

Also, the portrayal of women in mass media has been vehemently criticised due to the fact that it
interferes with the entire concept and struggle for gender equality. The main concern is the fact that
the media has the power to shape the publics opinion and manipulate the masses, portraying
unrealistic stereotypical perceptions which could imply that women are unimportant and invisible.

2.5. Economic empowerment of women

According to United Nations Women the direct path towards gender equality, poverty
eradication and economic growth could be directly set if society were to invest in womens economic
empowerment.

One of the main reasons why some women end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and being
disproportionately affected by poverty in comparison to men and exploitation is gender
discrimination.

The United Nations Population Fund made the following observation that 6 in 10 out of the
worlds poorest people are women and that economic disparities persist partly because much of the
unpaid work within families and communities falls on the shoulders of women, and because women
continue to face discrimination in the economic sphere.

2.6. Political participation of women

In most countries, within national parliaments, the number of representing women is very
low. The 2011 UN General Assembly resolution on womens political participation was specifically
designated to address the fact that women in every part of the globe were marginalised from the
political sphere.

The Council of the European Union has stated that pluralist democracy requires the balanced
participation of both women and men in political and public decision-making. Consequently the
standards of the Council of Europe provide clear guidance on how to achieve this could be attained.

In terms of achieving and implementing gender equality institutions play a crucial role.
However, guarantees related to addressing basic human legal rights, access to control of resources,
employment and earnings and even social and political participation are not present. In many social
and legal institutions take as an example the fact that only 22% of parliamentarians globally are
women, thus leaving the majority of power in the hands of men.

In some Western countries, women have only recently obtained the right to vote. In
Switzerland, for instance, women have been given the right to vote since 1971, but not in the canton
of Appenzell Innerrhoden. Females obtained the right to vote throughout the entire country in 1991,
when the canton was forced to include womens opinion by the Federal Supreme Court of
Switzerland. After three failed referendums in 1968, 1971 and 1973, women were given the ability to
vote in Lichtenstein in 1984.
3. Study Case 2016 Presidential Elections in the United States

While on the topic of womens political participation, taking a look to what has recently
happened in the United States of America, during the 2016 presidential election, is necessary. When
one thinks of the United States, some of the first thoughts that come in mind are freedom, the land of
opportunity, equality and respect.

Hillary Clinton has been disrespected by her opponent (Donald Trump), with every single
chance he encountered. The newly elected American President was not shy at all when he said that
women are neither prepared to be in a position of this sort, nor do they have the competences needed
to play the part of president. This type of conduct, belief and behaviour is very common amongst the
poorly educated. The ones that believe they know it all, without looking at the quality and knowledge
one person has, not taking into consideration what gender that person is.

While Hillary Clinton was indeed a flawed candidate she maintained her resilience and
proved, especially to her voters, that she was a competent and devoted leader, demonstrated her
intelligence and did not show any signs that could categorise her as untrustworthy. Despite all these,
after the election, it was proven that the American voters considered Trump more trustworthy. This is
perceived, by many, as irrational and ironic, considering the fact that, over the years, he has cheated
and lied to investors, customers and also contractors and showed his greedy characters and substantial
level of egotism.

Moreover, the 2016 elections were full of statements that portrayed misogyny and moments in
which women, especially Hillary Clinton, but through extrapolation, women in general, were treated
with no respect at all. Take for instance the time in which the elected President called his opponent a
nasty woman, during the final presidential debate. The irony was that he uttered those words not long
after making the statement that no one shows respect to women more than him. Through this
behaviour, he managed to show the entire world that he disconsiders women that refuse to conform to
his narrow and outdated idea of how a woman is supposed to behave for example, that she should be
more obedient and should not dare to challenge the words of a man.

Trump accused his opponent of playing the woman card by making the following remark:
Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I dont think shed get 5 % of the vote. The only things shes
got going is the womens card. Did he consider, when stating this misogynistic and absurd sentence,
that the woman she was referring to was a former United States senator, a former state secretary and
first lady, being one of the most qualified presidential candidates in the history of the United States?
Certainly not. Additionally, one could believe that, after over 220 years dominated by male presidents
and no years with female presidents, Donald Trump was actually the one benefitting from a card, the
male card that is.
 Furthermore, Clinton was not the only woman disrespected by this slick performer not
only public figures, but women in general. Shockingly, in spite of his behaviour, various women
supported him throughout the elections, claiming that they were choosing the lesser evil, preferring
his misogyny, sexual assault accusations, cruelty, incoherence and racism compared to the supposedly
criminal and licentious character of Hilary Clinton.

In this years election we have witnessed a double figure divide between men and womens
support for the two presidential candidates. The gap was surprisingly large.

As expected, Trump has caused a lot of controversy with his misogynistic assaults on women,
both verbally and sexually. Thus, it does not come as a shocker that most women (54%) have voted
for Clinton.

Although he is notorious for being disrespectful towards women, at the end of the second Presidential
debate, when an audience member asked each candidate to say something positive about the other,
Trump took the stand to say that Hillary is was fighter and that she never gave up. This was quite
shocking, taking into consideration that, not so long before this episode, he accused Clinton for being
weak and for lacking stamina.

Most of the attacks against Hillary Clinton over the years have been policy oriented and
substantive, most of them being steered towards her mishandle of the health care reform, support of
the war in Iraq and also using a private e-mail server. Nevertheless, the greatest battle Hillary has ever
fought throughout the years was the one against sexism. Throughout the years, Mrs Clinton has been
scrutinized and judged as a woman in every possible way. Most critics referred to her by using her
maiden name, and commented over the fact that she continued to work as a lawyer once her husband
became the governor of Arkansas, and mostly over her lack of interest in household activities, such as
baking cookies. Also, her looks were put a lot under question, from the way she wore her hair to her
outfits. Some people have never accepted her as a genuine female icon of female empowerment, due
to the fact that she has stood in the shadow of her husband and also stood by him even when she
found out he was cheating on her.

Moreover, in 2007, when Clinton was presumed to be a nominee, a lot of disrespectful words
were thrown in her direction. People were resilient to the idea that a woman could be president, and
soon jokes and even bumper stickers appeared.

During Clintons political career we have been witnesses to a decrease in institutionalized

discrimination against women. Not only this, but also the concept that a woman cannot go a given a
job as well as a man could, or even the idea that a woman could not work outside the house were put
to rest. Sadly, what still lingers in misogyny is the objectification of women we can see flourish
around the internet and amongst Donald Trump and his supporters. Donald Trump insisted in a lot of
his rallies that Hillary should be locked up. Moreover, in the second presidential debate, he sworn to
do so if he gets elected. Such behaviour, in its vulgarity and rawness is a radical break from
conservative norms.

3.1. Polls results division by gender, age and education

The 2016 presidential elections in the United States, revealed overwhelming divisions when
talking about gender, age, as well as education.

When referring to gender, polls indicated that women believed more in Hillary Clinton than
they did in Donald Trump. On one hand, Clinton was supported by 54% of women voters, while
Trump benefited from only 42% of the votes. On the other hand, Donald Trump won mens sympathy,
scoring up to 53% of the votes, whilst Clinton gained 41%. These statistics demonstrate that there was
a 12 point margin in both gender categories of voters.

Hilary Clinton gained greater support with the young adult voters, aged between 18 and 30
than her opponent 55% compared to 37%, while older voters, aged 65 or more, voted the opposite
(53% for Trump and 45% for Clinton).

The exit polls revealed that Trump gained a significant share of the votes casted by Americans
without a college degree, more specifically white people. As results showed, the male candidate had
the largest margin among white people without higher education since 1980, having the support of
67% of this category, while Clinton had only 28%, namely 39 percentage points less. Additionally and
surprisingly, considered that this category was considered a potential supporter of Hillary Clinton, 4%
more white people with college degrees elected Donald Trump as compared to his female opponent
49% voted for Trump, while 45% for Clinton.
Conclusion

In conclusion, even though the whole world has evolved, in terms of technology, better
understanding of sciences, effective communication between individuals, some people are still
resilient to the idea that everybody deserves an equal chance. Gender should not impact whether a
person should or should not get the job, the education or whatever it is that person is looking for.
What is most frightening is the fact that this sort of behaviour is seen in high places, on television,
and, as we have seen, it is used as a weapon in order for people to reach their objectives.

Moreover, people should fight for equality, not only for gender equality, but also for race and
religion. Misogyny is something we must diminish continually, until making it a matter of history.
References

1. Aristotle, Politics (Book 1)

2. Aristotle, Generation of Animals (paragraph 737a)
3. Jean Jacque Rousseau Sur les femmes
4. Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
5. Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo
6. Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
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Philosophy
8. United Nations. Report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997 "Universal Declaration
of Human Rights" United Nations. December 16, 1948
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