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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Women with internalised misogyny- victims?

63 replies

MilkToast · 09/09/2024 16:11

I see it often on MN, women denigrating all women. Assuming these are in fact women, and not troll men, which I don’t believe they all are. I’ve certainly experienced misogyny from women in my life so it’s not like it doesn’t exist. It is frustrating, but then I began to think, is it a defence mechanism to cope in a world where women are treated by and largely as second class citizens to men? Is it akin to ‘can’t beat them so may as well join them’, on a more subconscious level? Or have they heard the messaging repeated so often that they truly believe it?

I’m trying to come to grips with why women do this, when it’s damaging to women to do so. Hopefully I haven’t said anything wildly offensive, please forgive any strange wording. I have ASD and don’t always communicate well.

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BalletCat · 19/10/2024 10:21

Fraaahnces · 19/10/2024 09:30

Wow… this is a thread asking for examples of a specific behaviour. People jump in reacting as if posters are saying ALL women behave this way. Mumsnet has become very weird.

I think the thing is we've all been accused of it, many times because it's used as a catch all for any woman who doesn't agree with what another woman is saying. It starts to feel like all women are like this when it happens all the time. Obviously not all women are like this, but I've been accused of having internalised misogyny three time this week just for disagreeing with people here, it's really starting to feel like you have to agree or you're worshipping the patriayat this point.

Fraaahnces · 19/10/2024 09:30

Wow… this is a thread asking for examples of a specific behaviour. People jump in reacting as if posters are saying ALL women behave this way. Mumsnet has become very weird.

midgetastic · 18/10/2024 13:33

But it doesn't ring at all true with me

In fact I think you saying men are more intelligent than women ( in your opinion) is rude and detrimental to women everywhere , but especially the bright ones who have to do so much more to be considered as peers with men of similar capabilities and I pity your daughters if you have them , limiting them with your less than intelligent ideas.

BalletCat · 18/10/2024 12:57

midgetastic · 18/10/2024 11:51

Oh I love a generalisation especially on a Friday

The dafter the better

It rings true to me though! This has been my experience, especially on Mumsnet.

Fraaahnces · 18/10/2024 12:57

@StickItInTheFamilyAlbum - I call that “Matronizing Behaviour.” I feel that in those situations you’re either hit with the “I went to uni for a million years to tell all of my patients to lose weight, you’ll feel better” idiots, or those who don’t read the notes and diagnose a eating disorder that isn’t there.

midgetastic · 18/10/2024 11:51

Edingril · 18/10/2024 02:29

I don't believe all men are the enemy and I don't believe all women are saints

I am starting to think women are less intelligent than men for one reason, they blame society every time they do something 'oh it's societal pressure' and any other excuses why they can't think for themselves

But this martyrdom of staying with a man and putting up with crap is on them, parents are the best role models for children so both parents should do better

But women seem to go down the feminist line unless it comes to school mums, MIL or SIL, the ex or new partner, step mothers, work colleagues, celebrities

Call this what you want

Oh I love a generalisation especially on a Friday

The dafter the better

StickItInTheFamilyAlbum · 18/10/2024 11:17

I had failed a stress test within five minutes because my BP dropped to 63/40 and I fell off the bike.

Sorry to read about the HF and sepsis. I hope you're getting appropriate support from elsewhere.

Re: Exercise Dodger. I once walked into a consultation carrying a collection of sports equipment as I was en route to an active weekend. During the information gathering, we chatted about my plans, and talked about the sports that I do and how often I do them.

My scan results reported that I'm sarcopenic) clinically low levels of muscle mass (related to loss of muscle when recovering from a major accident) and that I had 'athletic' levels of body fat (2nd centile for my age group). Nonetheless, the click whirr was to hand me leaflets, advise me to lose weight (I asked how I'd do that without losing muscle mass and how low a body fat level she'd recommend) and to try and take a 20 minute stroll most days 'to be more active' (during the earlier discussion, I'd said that I'm active at least 6 days a week).

NB: not an Exercise Bunny either, within the usual understanding of exercise classes.

BalletCat · 18/10/2024 10:18

Fraaahnces · 18/10/2024 02:53

I was in hospital with a dangerously low blood pressure. I have heart failure and I was recovering from sepsis. The registrar saw "Middle-Aged White Woman" and equated that to "Exercise Dodger". Refused to hear that my work was actually very physical and I was struggling with having to change jobs (I bloody loved my job, but fainting like a Victorian in a too-tight corset made it bloody dangerous) and she kept telling me that I needed to "Keep pushing myself". In fact, that was her only advice. Her only plan. She didn't read the bit where I had failed a stress test within five minutes because my BP dropped to 63/40 and I fell off the bike.
I'm a fucking palliative care nurse.

Can you imagine me fainting while moving or bathing a dying patient or running around with meds? I don't live in the UK but sure as shit I complained to the authorities about her.

That's really odd because in the UK at least I would say the stereotype is that in middle age men are couch potatoes and women are exercise bunnies trying to keep the weight off and stay looking young. Men are unhealhier and far more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than women in middle age. They also drink more, smoke more and eat less healthily.

There is definitely a problem of healthcare professionals not taking women's pain seriously I've just never come across health care professionals assuming women are lazy.

YankSplaining · 18/10/2024 03:00

@BalletCat Thanks. 🙂

Fraaahnces · 18/10/2024 02:53

I was in hospital with a dangerously low blood pressure. I have heart failure and I was recovering from sepsis. The registrar saw "Middle-Aged White Woman" and equated that to "Exercise Dodger". Refused to hear that my work was actually very physical and I was struggling with having to change jobs (I bloody loved my job, but fainting like a Victorian in a too-tight corset made it bloody dangerous) and she kept telling me that I needed to "Keep pushing myself". In fact, that was her only advice. Her only plan. She didn't read the bit where I had failed a stress test within five minutes because my BP dropped to 63/40 and I fell off the bike.
I'm a fucking palliative care nurse.

Can you imagine me fainting while moving or bathing a dying patient or running around with meds? I don't live in the UK but sure as shit I complained to the authorities about her.

Edingril · 18/10/2024 02:29

I don't believe all men are the enemy and I don't believe all women are saints

I am starting to think women are less intelligent than men for one reason, they blame society every time they do something 'oh it's societal pressure' and any other excuses why they can't think for themselves

But this martyrdom of staying with a man and putting up with crap is on them, parents are the best role models for children so both parents should do better

But women seem to go down the feminist line unless it comes to school mums, MIL or SIL, the ex or new partner, step mothers, work colleagues, celebrities

Call this what you want

Anxiouswaffle · 18/10/2024 01:54

The point on men having more power in society than women is that - all other things being equal men have more power than women not that every single man has more power - a man generally will have more access to education, more access to money, more access to spare time, more confidence to speak up etc and all the things that give power
some of it is an ordering question to a degree- i personally would focus on removing privilege and advantage that class and money bring (which would help the sex as well)

BalletCat · 18/10/2024 00:57

YankSplaining · 10/09/2024 17:51

Because while there are aspects of feminism most women agree on, there are also aspects of feminism, or branches of feminism, that conflict with women’s beliefs in other areas.

For example, I see a lot of Germaine Greer quoting on Mumsnet about “women have no idea how much men hate them.” Most women don’t believe men, as a group, hate them. I don’t believe men, as a group, hate women. Feminists also sometimes have a dismissive attitude towards problems men have - who cares if men kill themselves at notably higher rates than women, women attempt suicide more! And a lot of the feminist “movers and shakers,” who tend to come from very educated and usually affluent backgrounds, have a tendency to do two things that are very off-putting.

One, they spend too much time on cultural trivia that’s not terribly important in the grand scheme of things. (Oh no, Greta Gerwig was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, but not Best Director!) Two, they refuse to acknowledge that not every single man has a higher position in society than they do simple by virtue of being a man. When it comes to the ability to influence other people and shape laws, society, and education, who has more power? A working-class man who left school at sixteen, has never travelled more than fifty miles away from where he was born, and spends his time watching football with his friends when he’s not trying to budget around his child support payments? Or a feminist influencer with a degree from a top university, who has the money to donate to political causes and the time to go to marches and protests? For too many of the most influential feminists, the answer is “men have more power in society than women,” full stop.

Women also have a whole variety of opinions on the role of mothers, when abortion should and shouldn’t be legal, religion. Only some of those opinions seem to be permissible in feminism.

I think “internalized misogyny” is a term that’s overused. Sometimes women don’t hate other women, or themselves for being women - they’re insecure, or a particular issue has never affected them or anyone they know. And I’ve seen it used way too often as a tactic some women use to try to shame other women into shutting up.

I don’t know or care if I’m a feminist or not. I try to do what I think is the right thing, regardless of whatever label people want to slap on it.

This is a fantastic post. I don't like a lot feminism because it comes across as very aggressive misandry to me and also paints all women as victims to the patriarchy. It also feels reductist that men can't do bad things just because they're arseholes, it's because they're MEN and all men are evil.

Many a time on here I have defended men when women have made hateful statements about them and been shouted down with insults like "you clearly have your lifelong subscription to the patriarchy paid up" been told I could only possibly believe what I believe because of internalised misogyny and actually been accused of being a man or a stealth MRA just because I don't think all men are predators! Its very off-putting and makes me want to stay far away from feminism because they're just nasty people in my experience.

I believe in equality for all but often when I've shown care for an issue that affects men feminists start spewing hateful comments like fuck men they have enough, more for women! Which to me is not equality. We want men to care about women and their issues or things like womens healthcare and rights will never improve, so why don't women reciprocate and care about men and their rights?

It's very unpleasant which is why I would never class myself as a feminist. My experience of feminism is fuck men we want everything for women. I haven't experienced a pleasant, welcoming feminist space that wants true equality and good things for everyone.

poppyzbrite4 · 12/09/2024 20:18

XChrome · 12/09/2024 20:06

Sometimes that's about misogyny and sometimes it's more that they just aren't very bright and are self absorbed. They may have personally had trouble with female bullies, and lacking imagination and the ability to see beyond themselves, they assume that what happened to them is what happens to everyone.

Irrespective of why they're saying it, it's misogynist. Misogyny includes prejudice against women as well as having different standards where men are viewed more leniently. Women are often treated more harshly than men for perceived infractions.

XChrome · 12/09/2024 20:06

poppyzbrite4 · 12/09/2024 15:19

My point is, a statement such as:

Women are bullies so I have male friends - is wrong.

All women aren't bullies. Men can also bully. Someone who thinks that all women are bullies is displaying misogynist views.

Sometimes that's about misogyny and sometimes it's more that they just aren't very bright and are self absorbed. They may have personally had trouble with female bullies, and lacking imagination and the ability to see beyond themselves, they assume that what happened to them is what happens to everyone.

poppyzbrite4 · 12/09/2024 15:19

TempestTost · 12/09/2024 15:02

What do you mean stats on 3 bn women acting the same?

That's not how statistics work.

You can make generalizations about groups.

You can't, however, apply those to each individual, or each specific instance. That's a mathematically and logically incorrect way to use statistics.

For example, we can say men are more physically violent than women. The statistics are very clear on this. But it's a statement about men as a whole.

You cannot apply it to individual men or individual women.

This is very basic, to science, sociology, psychology. I don't understand why people have so much trouble understanding it. Especially when they seem to be able to understand it in some instances.

My point is, a statement such as:

Women are bullies so I have male friends - is wrong.

All women aren't bullies. Men can also bully. Someone who thinks that all women are bullies is displaying misogynist views.

TempestTost · 12/09/2024 15:11

MilkToast · 11/09/2024 09:34

Saying that women who say specifically misogynistic things don’t have internalised misogyny, and that they have internalised hatred instead… would someone who makes broad sweeping negative statements about their specific race (ethnicity) not have internalised racism, then? Instead it’s that they have internalised hatred? Specifying and naming the type of hatred is important. Using a vague term otherwise obscures the nature of the hatred and then makes it difficult to confront the specific issue.

Edited

I wasn't actually drawing a distinction between misogyny and a women having internalized hatred.

I am suggesting that your assumption is that finding women's social interactions in general more difficult than men's isn't (necessarily) misogyny. Whether you call that being bitchy or use a more descriptive kid of language.

The reason they don't include themselves in that is because they are making a generalization, they know it's not everyone who is the same because they understand the difference between statements about groups and statements about individuals.

And yes, people can and do sometimes make generalizations about their own racial group, without having some kind of internalized racial hatred. IN fact I'd say it's quite common.

TempestTost · 12/09/2024 15:02

poppyzbrite4 · 11/09/2024 07:14

Whether women - as a group, that is to say statistically - have different behaviours from men, and why. And what the outcomes of the statistical reality are.

I'm not sure what this is referring to. I was referring to mysogynist tropes. These are negative stereotypes directed at women. Do you have those stats on the behaviour of 3bn women all acting the same?

Whether women should be feminists and what feminism is.

Feminism is the belief in equality amongst other things. If a woman doesn't believe she's equal to man, surely that's because of internalised misogyny.

How to treat abortion legally and what it means morally

There was no debate on this, it was given as an example of internalised misogyny. A woman denying another woman an abortion.

Whether it is ok to have page 3 models, or be a page 3 model.

Again there wasn't a debate on this, it was mentioned. I would count a woman who agreed with women being used as sexual objects, as having internalised misogyny.

Even about gender ideology.

I'll have to re read the thread as I don't remember this. I would need to know what that person said and their argument.

Edited

What do you mean stats on 3 bn women acting the same?

That's not how statistics work.

You can make generalizations about groups.

You can't, however, apply those to each individual, or each specific instance. That's a mathematically and logically incorrect way to use statistics.

For example, we can say men are more physically violent than women. The statistics are very clear on this. But it's a statement about men as a whole.

You cannot apply it to individual men or individual women.

This is very basic, to science, sociology, psychology. I don't understand why people have so much trouble understanding it. Especially when they seem to be able to understand it in some instances.

lemonpepperlady · 12/09/2024 11:15

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines - previously banned poster.

MilkToast · 11/09/2024 09:52

Joleyne · 11/09/2024 09:49

What makes you think they're women, Op?

This is an anonymous public board that anyone can use. I can say I'm whoever I like. You don't know if I'm man, woman or child.

There are a lot of men on here. Some say so; some don't.

I can’t say for certain who is a woman or not on MN, but it exists out in the ‘real world’ as well. I’ve heard it a lot in my family by women (in my case, a deeply religious family, myself excluded). That’s why I prefaced my post with ‘Assuming these are in fact women, and not troll men, which I don’t believe they all are. I’ve certainly experienced misogyny from women in my life so it’s not like it doesn’t exist.’

OP posts:
Joleyne · 11/09/2024 09:49

What makes you think they're women, Op?

This is an anonymous public board that anyone can use. I can say I'm whoever I like. You don't know if I'm man, woman or child.

There are a lot of men on here. Some say so; some don't.

Alwaystired94 · 11/09/2024 09:44

MilkToast · 11/09/2024 09:34

Saying that women who say specifically misogynistic things don’t have internalised misogyny, and that they have internalised hatred instead… would someone who makes broad sweeping negative statements about their specific race (ethnicity) not have internalised racism, then? Instead it’s that they have internalised hatred? Specifying and naming the type of hatred is important. Using a vague term otherwise obscures the nature of the hatred and then makes it difficult to confront the specific issue.

Edited

Any women who repeats and belives misogynistic statements about other women does have internalised misogyny. I.e. "she was asking to be raped" "women are too emotional to be in charge, men are better leaders". Those are the extremes but yes it doesn't just start at the extreme level, you get the "women are bossy and men are leaders" and so on.

internalised hatred towards women is internalised misogyny.

MilkToast · 11/09/2024 09:34

TempestTost · 10/09/2024 23:42

I think that there are people with internalized hatred.

But that's actually quite rarely the reason we see people disagree in the kinds of discussions we see around MN.

The last page was largely a claim that that AIBU thread talking about female friends was about internalized misogyny. There was really nothing in that thread that was particularly suggestive of that.

That kind of explanation should probably be about the last one we reach for, and it should ideally be supported by some other evidence of knowledge showing the person has such sentiments. Otherwise a better assumption is that there is a reason based on the person's logical process or personal experiences and observations.

Saying that women who say specifically misogynistic things don’t have internalised misogyny, and that they have internalised hatred instead… would someone who makes broad sweeping negative statements about their specific race (ethnicity) not have internalised racism, then? Instead it’s that they have internalised hatred? Specifying and naming the type of hatred is important. Using a vague term otherwise obscures the nature of the hatred and then makes it difficult to confront the specific issue.

OP posts:
Alwaystired94 · 11/09/2024 09:24

XChrome · 11/09/2024 02:24

Not believing that every woman is honest isn't misogynistic, as long as you aren't spouting those tired rape myths that portray women as commonly making false sexual assault charges.
I think the believing women thing is not really about believing every single woman, it's saying that the overwhelming majority of the time, women are telling the truth about sexual assault, so it makes sense to err on the side of belief rather than on disbelief.

I do know of one woman (who was an acquaintance for a very short time as I couldn't stand her) who turned out to be a proven false rape accuser, but she wasn't believed and I doubt there are many who are, considering it's so hard to get authorities to believe a truthful claim. This idiot had consensually fucked a date right in front of CCTV and claimed he randomly attacked her. She had tried it with a previous date as well.
I'm sure it occasionally happens that a liar is believed, just as with any other false accusation. I had the miserable experience of being falsely accused of physical assault, so that obviously happens as well.

I think the believing women thing is not really about believing every single woman, it's saying that the overwhelming majority of the time, women are telling the truth about sexual assault, so it makes sense to err on the side of belief rather than on disbelief.

Exactly. The whole believing women part of it is more that logically, if you look at it the chances of a false accusation are low n the grand scheme of things. And as a victim myself, i know the vast vast majority of women will have been or will be sexually assaulted or raped unfortunately. So i will always err on the side of belief also, rather than being dismissive. Others being dismissive is why many, like me, never reported the crimes against us.

poppyzbrite4 · 11/09/2024 07:28

TempestTost · 10/09/2024 23:42

I think that there are people with internalized hatred.

But that's actually quite rarely the reason we see people disagree in the kinds of discussions we see around MN.

The last page was largely a claim that that AIBU thread talking about female friends was about internalized misogyny. There was really nothing in that thread that was particularly suggestive of that.

That kind of explanation should probably be about the last one we reach for, and it should ideally be supported by some other evidence of knowledge showing the person has such sentiments. Otherwise a better assumption is that there is a reason based on the person's logical process or personal experiences and observations.

There was really nothing in that thread that was particularly suggestive of that.

In your opinion. In my opinion, there was plenty to back up that claim. I get on better with men because they're less bitchy is obviously a mysogynist statement. I get on better with men because women all talk about each other is a mysogynist statement. I get on better with men because [insert stereotype] is mysogynist.

Otherwise a better assumption is that there is a reason based on the person's logical process or personal experiences and observations.

For disliking all women?