Australian dictionary has changed its definition of misogyny to to mean 'entrenched prejudice agains - Polidicks

[quote] [B]Sexism and misogyny: what's the difference?[/B] An Australian dictionary has changed its definition of misogyny to reflect the fact that it is now used to mean 'entrenched prejudice against women', not just hatred of them. Six feminists tell us what the term means to them [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/10/17/1350484597307/Julia-Gillard-008.jpg[/IMG] [I]Julia Gillard … critics of the Australian PM accused her of misusing the word misogyny and falsely accusing political rival Tony Abbott of hating women. Photograph: Cole Bennetts/Getty Images[/I] I object to more heightened words being appropriated carelessly to make political points: sexism is not in fact misogyny; someone can like women quite a lot in person but be very happy to support systematic discrimination against them (sexism) or to use gender stereotypes against them (sexism). So I am sorry to see the dictionary conflating the terms. Sexism is to misogyny what antisemitism is to Jew-hating. Neither is ever acceptable, but we need precise language to understand and fight injustice effectively. Having said that, Julia Gillard [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/oct/09/australia-pm-gillard-misogynist-video"]used "misogyny' perfectly accurately[/URL]. She said that Tony Abbott described abortion as "the easy way out" and cited his political campaign against Gillard involving posters asking voters to "ditch the witch". The latter, especially, is a time-honoured tradition of true misogyny – stirring up atavistic hatred of the feminine – that goes back to witch-hunts against powerful women in the New World. Her critics, for their part, are asking us to water down our awareness of real woman-hating and accept it as normal in political discourse. "Misogyny" often surfaces in political struggles over women's role, and you can tell because the control of women becomes personalised, intrusive and often sexualised. Misogyny has the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala"]amygdala[/URL] involved – the part of the brain involved in processing emotional responses – there is contempt and violence in it. A public figure who tolerates the systemic under-prosecuting of rape is guilty of serious and unforgivable sexism; making rape jokes or explaining away the damage of rape in public [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/19/republican-todd-akin-rape-pregnancy"]as Congressman Todd Akin did[/URL] recently in the US, or legislating, as over a dozen US states are now doing, [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/feb/21/abortion-women-state-sponsored-rape"]transvaginal probes that are medically unnecessary[/URL], simply to sexually punish women for choosing abortion – well, that is misogyny. [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/19/1319042149039/Naomi-Wolf-003.jpg[/IMG] [B]Julia Gillard used the word accurately [/B] [I]"I object to more heightened words being appropriated carelessly to make political points: sexism is not in fact misogyny; someone can like women quite a lot in person but be very happy to support systematic discrimination against them (sexism) or to use gender stereotypes against them (sexism). So I am sorry to see the dictionary conflating the terms. Sexism is to misogyny what antisemitism is to Jew-hating. Neither is ever acceptable, but we need precise language to understand and fight injustice effectively.[/I] [I]Having said that, Julia Gillard [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/oct/09/australia-pm-gillard-misogynist-video"]used "misogyny' perfectly accurately[/URL]. She said that Tony Abbott described abortion as "the easy way out" and cited his political campaign against Gillard involving posters asking voters to "ditch the witch". The latter, especially, is a time-honoured tradition of true misogyny – stirring up atavistic hatred of the feminine – that goes back to witch-hunts against powerful women in the New World. Her critics, for their part, are asking us to water down our awareness of real woman-hating and accept it as normal in political discourse. [/I] [I]"Misogyny" often surfaces in political struggles over women's role, and you can tell because the control of women becomes personalised, intrusive and often sexualised. Misogyny has the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala"]amygdala[/URL] involved – the part of the brain involved in processing emotional responses – there is contempt and violence in it. A public figure who tolerates the systemic under-prosecuting of rape is guilty of serious and unforgivable sexism; making rape jokes or explaining away the damage of rape in public [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/19/republican-todd-akin-rape-pregnancy"]as Congressman Todd Akin did[/URL] recently in the US, or legislating, as over a dozen US states are now doing, [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/feb/21/abortion-women-state-sponsored-rape"]transvaginal probes that are medically unnecessary[/URL], simply to sexually punish women for choosing abortion – well, that is misogyny."[/I] [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/5/7/1336385068454/Julie-Bindel.jpg[/IMG] [B]Sexists are not always misogynists [/B][I]"When a man claims that women are naturally maternal, or are by default, bad drivers, he is a sexist. If he was to add that women are only good for a fuck and should be confined to servicing men and their children, it is misogyny. Misogynists are always sexist, but sexists are not always misogynists. For example, if a man says of a woman, "Look at the state of that fat, ugly cow, I wouldn't touch her with yours," then he is a misogynist. It would follow that he does not respect women as equals and is therefore also a sexist." [/I] [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/14/1318592406444/nina-power.jpg[/IMG] [B]Being misogynist, acting sexist [/B][I]"In a moment of idle curiosity a good few years ago, I wondered whether there was an antonym for misogyny. I presumed it would be something like "philogyny" and it was indeed – "fondness towards women". After the definition, a short note in parenthesis: "usage: rare" (and today, too, the spellchecker has red-underlined the word. Apparently liking women has not become any more popular in the computer age!) What a depressing dictionary note, I thought: we talk about misogyny all the time, and yet the opposite is nowhere to be found. [/I] [I]Misogyny, and philogyny for that matter, seems to imply an essential state of being, perhaps an inability to change an outlook, a claim about what that person is. Sexism, on the other hand, is perhaps more often linked to acts and words – "so this person wrote this tweet that was sexist, but it doesn't mean he hates women", that sort of thing. The interchangeable use of the terms may be in keeping with contemporary usage, but we might want to make a quiet plea to hold open the distinction, if only so the antonym for "hating women" might one day usurp its partner in popularity." [/I] [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/06/02/rahila_gupta_140x140.jpg[/IMG] [B]A murky pond in which misogyny flourishes [/B][I]"We all know that sexism is the pond in which misogyny flourishes and because the water is so murky, you sometimes don't even notice how healthily it grows. And because it is growing in water, it sometimes reflects back at you as love instead of hate. To be specific, sexism is when men let you jump the queue and get on a crowded bus first in Delhi (to confuse matters further, that's called chivalry) and then the poor dears, willy nilly, get crushed up against you as their hands "accidentally" cup your breasts in a frenzy of misogyny." [/I] [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/4/23/1335184621044/Rhiannon-Williams.jpg[/IMG] [B]Something darker and angrier [/B][I]"Sexism is to misogyny what Benny Hill is to Rush Limbaugh. While sexism demonstrates a disregard and disrespect for women, I always have associated misogyny with something darker, angrier, and more cynical. Things like Page 3 often betray a failure to move with the times, a certain outdated attitude about women's roles that has the potential to be modernised. But educating someone out of the blinkered hatred of misogyny is a monumental challenge. To think, as the Republicans do, that the male half of society should be able to legislate and control the bodies of the female half, well, that can be nothing but misogyny." [/I] [IMG]http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/07/29/bidisha_140x140.jpg[/IMG] [B]Two sexist remarks and one misogynist one [/B] [I]"At a major literary festival, before an event about military fiction, a posh famous English author smirked to me, "What's the difference between a woman and a piece of toast? You can make soldiers from toast." That's sexist. [/I] [I]When boarding a flight from Geneva to London a man followed his wife on to the plane and said at the top of his voice to her, "The plane went down when you got on it," which prompted gasps from everyone around including the cabin staff, while he smirked and the woman looked like she wanted to drop in to a hole in the ground and die. That's sexist.[/I] [I]On a train from York to London a woman was talking on the phone in the quiet carriage. A couple near me got cross. "I'll go and tell her it's the quiet carriage," said the man to us all nearby. "Ooh, don't," muttered the wife. "OK then, I'll go and punch her," he said. That's misogynist."[/I][/quote] I wonder what they will change misandry too.

[QUOTE=Vasili;38076462]I wonder what they will change misandry too.[/QUOTE] Misandry (Noun) See: [img]http://i.imgur.com/ZHtCD.png[/img]

Just one bit I don't get: [QUOTE]"I'll go and tell her it's the quiet carriage," said the man to us all nearby. "Ooh, don't," muttered the wife. "OK then, I'll go and punch her," he said. That's misogynist."[/QUOTE] How is that misogynist? Unless I am missing something it is not because of a hatred of women, it is a hatred (and I would argue it wasn't meant seriously) of people talking in a quiet carriage. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38076511]Misandry (Noun) See: [img]http://i.imgur.com/ZHtCD.png[/img][/QUOTE] help i'm being repressed

[QUOTE=NeonpieDFTBA;38076553]Just one bit I don't get: How is that misogynist? Unless I am missing something it is not because of a hatred of women, it is a hatred (and I would argue it wasn't meant seriously) of people talking in a quiet carriage. Please correct me if I am wrong.[/QUOTE] Everything against women is misogynist. Just how everything against black people is racist. Butthurt society.

[quote]"When a man claims that women are naturally maternal, or are by default, bad drivers, he is a sexist. If he was to add that women are only good for a fuck and should be confined to servicing men and their children, it is misogyny. Misogynists are always sexist, but sexists are not always misogynists. For example, if a man says of a woman, [b]"Look at the state of that fat, ugly cow, I wouldn't touch her with yours,"[/b] then he is a misogynist. It would follow that he does not respect women as equals and is therefore also a sexist." [/quote] How is this sexist OR misogynistic? It has nothing whatsoever to do with it being a woman, it has only to do with the woman being a fat, ugly cow. [quote]When boarding a flight from Geneva to London a man followed his wife on to the plane and said at the top of his voice to her, "The plane went down when you got on it," which prompted gasps from everyone around including the cabin staff, while he smirked and the woman looked like she wanted to drop in to a hole in the ground and die. That's sexist.[/quote] Again, it's because she's fat, not because she's a woman. [quote]To be specific, sexism is when men let you jump the queue and get on a crowded bus first in Delhi (to confuse matters further, that's called chivalry) and then the poor dears, willy nilly, get crushed up against you as their hands "accidentally" cup your breasts in a frenzy of misogyny."[/quote] That's called rape, not misogyny.

the superior male race is being suppressed, arise my aryan brothers

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38076830]How is this sexist OR misogynistic? It has nothing whatsoever to do with it being a woman, it has only to do with the woman being a fat, ugly cow. [/QUOTE] men generally don't call other men "ugly cows" as an insult because "cow", like "bitch", is a gender specific term [IMG]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ssh.gif[/IMG]

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38076860]men generally don't call other men "ugly cows" as an insult [img]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ssh.gif[/img][/QUOTE] but women must be objectified to keep order and control, what if the darkies and the gays start thinking they need rights too huh??

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38076860]men generally don't call other men "ugly cows" as an insult because "cow", like "bitch", is a gender specific term [IMG]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ssh.gif[/IMG][/QUOTE] Err what? Men generally don't call each other ugly cows because most men aren't attracted to other men.. Besides, I've never ever heard of 'cow' being a gender specific insult. [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] Even if it was a gender specific insult, that'd be sexism and not misogynistic.

[quote]entrenched prejudice against women[/quote] Uh we have a word for that already that's what sexism is. What exactly does this accomplish? There's an important distinction between discrimination through malice and discrimination that exists through tradition that's hard enough to define as it is with people using 'misogyny' as a byword for 'disagrees with me on gender issues.'

[QUOTE]entrenched prejudice against women[/QUOTE] So, uh, Reddit?

[QUOTE=Van-man;38077012]So, uh, Reddit?[/QUOTE] afaik reddit has such a wide spectrum of leanings that it's almost impossible to characterize... try characterizing r/feminism like that

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38076922]Err what? Men generally don't call each other ugly cows because most men aren't attracted to other men.. Besides, I've never ever heard of 'cow' being a gender specific insult. [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] Even if it was a gender specific insult, that'd be sexism and not misogynistic.[/QUOTE] what the fuck? [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] am i being punkd [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] can you just say that again? that it's not [i]misogyny[/i] because it's [i]sexism against women[/i] instead?

I don't get the last three quotes. The first one is sexist, but the other two don't seem to be either sexist of misogynistic. As the first talks about the potential weight of the woman, something not connected to gender and the second once more is completely gender neutral. Seems like some people don't understand the terms themselves.

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38077044]what the fuck? [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] am i being punkd [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] can you just say that again? that it's not [I]misogyny[/I] because it's [I]sexism against women[/I] instead?[/QUOTE] It's not sexism nor misogyny in my opinion, but if 'ugly cow' is a gender specific insult as you claim, it would still not be misogyny, the person in the article claims it is misogyny. If 'ugly cow' is a gender specific insult, then yes, it is sexism, but it is not misogyny since it doesn't portray hatred towards women.

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077110]It's not sexism nor misogyny in my opinion, but if 'ugly cow' is a gender specific insult as you claim, it would still not be misogyny, the person in the article claims it is misogyny. If 'ugly cow' is a gender specific insult, then yes, it is sexism, but it is not misogyny since it doesn't portray hatred towards women.[/QUOTE] It's a gendered slur. A racial slur like the word "nigger" is racist because it implicitly denigrates an entire race. That's what makes a racial slur different from a normal insult; the [B]racially loaded[/B] element to it which is a specific element of it's definition. A gender specific slur like "bitch" or "cow" is also loaded. They have specific literal and cultural connotations and denotations which intrinsically tie them to sex, and are therefore sexist when used in a denigrating fashion. It's really simple broheim.

Out of curiosity, would you consider calling a man a dick or a bastard to be sexist as well?

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38077172]It's a gendered slur. A racial slur like the word "nigger" is racist because it implicitly denigrates an entire race. That's what makes a racial slur different from a normal insult; the [B]racially loaded[/B] element to it which is a specific element of it's definition. A gender specific slur like "bitch" or "cow" is also loaded. They have specific literal and cultural connotations and denotations which intrinsically tie them to sex, and are therefore sexist when used in a denigrating fashion. It's really simple broheim.[/QUOTE] I don't agree that cow is a gender specific insult. It's really simple broheim (<- what?). I associate cow with fat, not fat women, maybe it's a cultural thing, I dunno, but you don't have to insult me by not responding to what I'm saying and instead nitpicking which is bullshit because I already said that if 'cow' is a gender specific insult as you say, then yes it is sexism. [b]The point here is that it is NOT misogyny. The article claims it's misogyny.[/b] [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;38077239]Out of curiosity, would you consider calling a man a dick or a bastard to be sexist as well?[/QUOTE] No because you can only be sexist towards women :downs: I wonder, is calling someone a 'chicken' racist too? I'm pretty sure chickens don't like being associated with being weak.

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077265]No because you can only be sexist towards women :downs: [/QUOTE]Hold off with anything like that until the question is answered. No one has said anything about it at this point. Can't just lunge out and start making assumptions.

[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;38077335]Hold off with anything like that until the question is answered. No one has said anything about it at this point. Can't just lunge out and start making assumptions.[/QUOTE] Very well.

[QUOTE=ThisGuy0;38077000]Uh we have a word for that already that's what sexism is. What exactly does this accomplish? There's an important distinction between discrimination through malice and discrimination that exists through tradition that's hard enough to define as it is with people using 'misogyny' as a byword for 'disagrees with me on gender issues.'[/QUOTE] Check your white cis male privilege.

[QUOTE=Desuh;38077371]Check your white cis male privilege.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]cis Denoting or relating to a molecular structure in which two particular atoms or groups lie on the same side of a given plane in the molecule, in particular denoting an isomer in which substituents at opposite ends of a carbon–carbon double bond are on the same side of the bond[/QUOTE] ??

[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;38077239]Out of curiosity, would you consider calling a man a dick or a bastard to be sexist as well?[/QUOTE] It would be sexist in an equal world but in the real world that currently exists it is not sexist because there is not a vast institutionalized system of anti-male discrimination. It's not sexist because it calling a man a dick doesn't do anything other than making him upset.

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38077382]It would be sexist in an equal world but in the real world that currently exists it is not sexist because there is not a vast institutionalized system of anti-male discrimination. It's not sexist because it calling a man a dick doesn't do anything other than making him upset.[/QUOTE] Calling a woman a fat cow doesn't do anything other than making her upset. [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] And that's sexual discrimination.

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077265] No because you can only be sexist towards women :downs: I wonder, is calling someone a 'chicken' racist too? I'm pretty sure chickens don't like being associated with being weak.[/QUOTE] are chickens people

[QUOTE=TheHydra;38077405]are chickens people[/QUOTE] Speciesism then? Is that a real word?

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077265]I don't agree that cow is a gender specific insult. It's really simple broheim (<- what?). I associate cow with fat, not fat women [/quote] Well just because you're culturally oblivious doesn't mean you're allowed to redefine reality [QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077265]No because you can only be sexist towards women :downs: I wonder, is calling someone a 'chicken' racist too? I'm pretty sure chickens don't like being associated with being weak.[/QUOTE] and I'm pretty sure that humans don't like being associated with animals, especially in attempts to justify shitty, false equivalences [QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077381]??[/QUOTE] do you take pride in not knowing anything or something? because apart from that you honestly have no reason to put a little more effort into this [editline]17th October 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077389]Calling a woman a fat cow doesn't do anything other than making her upset.[/QUOTE] It is one of many methods of reinforcing misogynist societal attitudes which, in turn, reinforce [b]genuine acts of discrimination.[/b]

[QUOTE=SigmaLambda;38077420]Well just because you're culturally oblivious doesn't mean you're allowed to redefine reality and I'm pretty sure that humans don't like being associated with animals, especially in attempts to justify shitty, false equivalences do you take pride in not knowing anything or something? because apart from that you honestly have no reason to put a little more effort into this[/QUOTE] I'm sorry that I don't know every single difference between your culture and mine. And when I don't know what something means, I look it up. The dictionary says that's the definition of cis so.. [QUOTE]It is one of many methods of reinforcing misogynist societal attitudes which, in turn, reinforce [B]genuine acts of discrimination.[/B][/QUOTE] You're reinforcing sexism by not allowing sexism to exist at the other side. Same with misogyny/misandry.

[QUOTE=mobrockers2;38077441]I'm sorry that I don't know every single difference between your culture and mine.[/QUOTE] Well your culture is a culture you made up to specifically validate this specific argument that you're currently making so don't get mad at me for not [I]getting[/I] it. If you're going to tell me that in your culture there isn't an intrinsic link between the word that specifically refers to female bovines and females then I'm going to call you a liar or a weirdo who just redefines what words means when it's convenient. And when I don't know what something means, I look it up. The dictionary says that's the definition of cis so..[/QUOTE] Well it's obviously not a satisfactory answer so maybe you should [B]look a little harder.[/B]