Who’s Afraid of Feminism? Misandry Myths and Patriarchal Backlash
Following a recent post on the 4B movement in South Korea, I found myself involved in several discussions about feminism. One particular exchange on Discord, struck a chord, and prompted me to reflect on the widespread misunderstanding of feminism and its frequent misinterpretation as misandry.
Misandry is defined as dislike, hatred or prejudice against men. It refers to negative attitudes, beliefs, or behaviours that marginalize or demean men based on their gender.
In today’s hyperconnected world, this term is increasingly weaponised, especially on social media, where isolated incidents are exaggerated or misinterpreted, to amplify and perpetuate a narrative of hatred and male victimisation.
This misinterpretation is not just a misunderstanding; it’s a deliberate rhetorical strategy used to discredit feminism and distract from the pervasive systemic issues that women face worldwide. Women across the globe have endured centuries of oppression—systemic discrimination, horrific violence (they literally burnt women alive) and societal constraints. Even today there is no shortage of ways women’s lives continue to be destroyed. Women are abused, assaulted, economically disempowered, raped, shoved into the margins, silenced, ignored, forced into pregnancy or servitude, imprisoned and, yes, sometimes murdered.
For decades the feminist movement has been haunted by accusations of being ‘anti-men’ and that feminists ‘hate men.’ It’s critical to ask: why does this misleading narrative gain so much traction?
This ‘misandry myth’ has been used to viciously undermine and discredit the movement, deterring women from joining it, and provoking men to oppose it – sometimes with violence. The stereotype of feminists as man-haters is a myth designed to silence women and perpetuate the patriarchal norms that harm all genders.
Patriarchy thrives on having lower standards for men and boys, while it forces women to overachieve just to be seen as equals. It doesn’t just harm women; it also harms men by discouraging growth, emotional development, and accountability.
Feminism is not a threat—it’s an opportunity to create a more equitable and inclusive society for everyone. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie famously said, ‘Feminism is about justice—it is not about the inverse of injustice.’
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Sources and further reading
Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
Jessica Aiston, ‘Vicious, vitriolic, hateful and hypocritical’: the representation of feminism within the manosphere, Critical Discourse Studies
Hopkins-Doyle, A., Petterson, A. L., Leach, S., Zibell, H., Chobthamkit, P., Binti Abdul Rahim, S., Blake, J., Bosco, C., Cherrie-Rees, K., Beadle, A., Cock, V., Greer, H., Jankowska, A., Macdonald, K., Scott English, A., Wai Lan YEUNG, V., Asano, R., Beattie, P., Bernardo, A. B. I., … Sutton, R. M. (2024). The Misandry Myth: An Inaccurate Stereotype About Feminists’ Attitudes Toward Men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 48(1), 8-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843231202708
UN Women, The 11 biggest hurdles for women’s equality by 2030
I have to confess i have tendencies towards misandry..... not that I hate men ( happily married for 37 years to a wonderful man) with many male friends that i love and respect and have had long term friendships with, but i find that most men (over 50%) are emotionally immature. Unwilling or unable to have a cooperative, collaborative, partnership with others that are equitable and sourced with a sense of reciprocity and mutual care and equality.
Human society has been living under the leash of religious and economic patriarchal supremacy for at least 4000 years. Women have been enslaved, raped, forced into submission, and kept from achieving all that they can and want to create and bring forth into the world for all these many generations, this usurpation of female personal sovereignty continues to this day across this entire globe. there is no society that does not in some way attempt to diminish the empowerment of non hetero males within their society.
men will say that they (males) must protect women thus their supremacy and control, but the truth is the only ones they may be protecting women from are other men..... so to me this whole systemic injustice we continue to live under is CRIMINAL!!!!!! women victimized because men are fearful of other men.... fix the other men instead of blaming the victims.... geeeeeeeez.
I believe that men should get the hell out of the way of the rest of society as a whole, if you can not live respectfully and in harmony with the 'other' than it is time to move to some remote empty region where you can figure out that you actually miss and need other people to live a good life of heart, creativity, harmony and joy...... or not and leave us alone.
The 'supremacy of the male human' in society is the biggest and most destructive lie ( besides the ludicrous one about infants being born with 'original sin' because they came out of a WOMANS WOMB..... refrickindickulous!!!! and of course the foolish thought that the divine creator is masculine....... i mean really what creative life comes out of a mans body??????
Do you know that the first penis didn't even show up in the evolutionary process on Earth until the age of reptiles, 200mya? that's 3.3 billion years of evolution that was Female or asexual. why the dick swingers think they have so much to crow about is beyond my understanding.
kind of a rant but at my age i no longer care if i piss people off...... get over your self....