Few people enjoy being disliked, no matter the reason. But it might be especially aggravating when the hurtful disposition is based on something that’s a given; an individual’s gender or appearance, for instance.
Take misogyny, for example. Manifesting itself in hatred towards or prejudice against females, it encourages people to make mean comments or behave themselves in a way that can only be called unsympathetic at best. Despite that, sometimes it’s women themselves who engage in misogynistic behavior.
Females of Reddit recently discussed the topic when one user asked them what was their most frequent form of internalized misogyny—a thought or behavior that they know is misogynistic and hurts to think or feel, but they can’t seem to shake off. Netizens were honest with their answers and covered all sorts of examples, some of which fellow redditors seemed to relate to, so scroll down to find them on the list below and read more about how internalized misogyny can affect women.
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That if no one has cooked dinner or the kitchen hasn't been cleaned, it's my fault even though a second fully functional adult lives in my house.
my most annoying one is that I think men age better than women and that I am afraid of looking old. When I look at a mature woman, I see all her "flaws" and reconstruct how she "is supposed to look" (aka YOUNG). While when I look at a man of any age, I see just him how he is and simply accept it without judgement.
Its really unfortunate and annoying and I hate it. I try to look past it but it is difficult.
Working on your own fear of looking old is an important part of this, I think. It’s a form of people-pleasing when you get right down to it - the belief that your appearance has to please others even when their expectations are unrealistic.
Thinking that I'm cheap and trashy for wanting or having sex. Especially if it doesn't involve romantic settings or specific rules. Social media makes it so much worse. "Classy women with high standards" types of videos made by women are incredibly hurtful and support misogynistic thought patterns
People and the society really have to stop treating sex as something bad or dirty.
I absolutely believe that I have to be thin to be attractive to my partner, but think that he’s attractive even though he’s overweight.
I think the worst is that I internalized the idea that girls and women are innately more responsible and organized.
I’m not innately organized, I’ve spent 40 years with undiagnosed ADHD and I’ve developed an elaborate system of tricks and notebooks to keep my life together.
So I feel like I’m failing as a woman and a human when I do something like miss the signup day for pizza day at school for my kids (thank you principal for letting me pay and sign up a day late), or forgetting to do my own laundry.
And then the internalized misogyny coupled with a bit of residual eldest daughter syndrome means I really, REALLY suck at asking for help. Half the battle is remembering I can ask for help from my husband. He’s great and he does a lot, but he needs to see slack to pick it up, if that makes sense.
But I’m working on it.
That, because I am a woman, I should be more caring.
I just don't. I am struggling to keep myself afloat as it is.
I still subconsciously assume that attractive women are automatically going to be meaner or more shallow just because they are attractive. I know it’s because I’m insecure myself and society has pushed this idea that all attractive women are stuck up but it’s so hard to shake this off.
Margaret Atwood said something about the male gaze and that there’s a figurative man in the back of your mind so you’re never alone and always being watched. For me, that man has been my dad, other male family members, male friends, and romantic interests that I feel are always judging me in the back of my mind.
As I hit my fifties this man in the back of my mind finally died. For the first time I felt comfortable pursuing my own idea of beauty. Cut my long blonde hair really short, got a tatto and swapped my high heels for sturdy boots. Some people see women my age do this and say we have given up. But I honestly have never been more comfortable in my own skin.
I’ve always worked out and kept fit, but I’d be lying if I said part of the reason I watch what I eat and work out is because I worry people would say I deserved the abuse and infidelity from my husband if I get too chubby. *”well, no wonder- look at her.”*
Judging women that try to impress men, despite the fact that women are taught that their value is linked to what men think
Idk if you can classify this as such but:
Judging a woman by what she’s wearing. Especially if it’s a very risqué outfit. I can’t even justify why I do it but I find myself doing this too often.
I can’t say it’s bc I can’t put on the same outfit and not look the same or afford it but it’s just an outfit I guess I consider rather inappropriate (for the time or setting) or *”she’s doing too much”*. I usually just smack my mind and saying:
*”she probably has never had the confidence and is now confident with her appearance, why can’t you accept that?”*
*”what is something YOU would like to wear that you know someone will equally judge you but you absolutely would love to wear as confidently as she would?”*
My initial reaction to seeing long underarm or leg hair on another woman is to feel grossed out. I have to actively remind myself it's none of my damn business how someone chooses to deal with their body hair.
I judge too quickly on women who follow trends. Like I have to remind myself everytime I see a Stanley cup that women are allowed to enjoy things even if I don't get it.
I’ll keep doing my part by going out in public with my leg hair visible so you can practice shaking it off!
It seems like a small thing in comparison to a lot of other comments, but always labeling my son's toys as male, especially when there is no characteristic that would indicate gender, like a little toy astronaut. I'm trying to catch myself and switch things up until my son can decide on his own.
When my daughter was in the baby/Barbie doll years, there was a boy her age that would come over to play dolls. His dad was of the dolls are for girls population. My daughter had a battery operated pick-up truck and would wear her princess dresses while she drove it around.
I am trying to gain muscle right now, which requires gaining weight. It has been hell on me psychologically due to the internalized misogyny telling me that the less I weigh, the better.
It's about what the weight is doing. ☺️ For reference, I can do 5 modified pushups in a row.
Feeling responsible for the actions of the men in my life.
My light bulb moment was realizing that I was standing there apologizing because my husband was directing his typical morning grumpiness toward *his own father*.
It was absurd that I felt that, somehow, *I* was to blame for a grown adult not knowing how to keep his mouth shut until he was awake enough to be a civilized human being. And not only was I to blame, I owed the person who raised him an apology for not teaching him better myself, now that he was my responsibility.
That heavy makeup= shallow, ditzy.
I think it helps that make-up is being seen more as an art form now, but I think that there's still a part of me that views it as a signifier that the woman Only cares about attracting men.
Thankfully I'm conscious enough of the inherent misogyny to shut down those thoughts.
I like to frame makeup as my battle armor. I only really wear it in my regular day when I feel less than and I need an ego boost. Luckily the older I get the less I need my battle armor.
I can't get it out of my head that women are less capable. I will trust any man in any position you can imagine before any woman doing the same task. This goes only for strangers, mind, I work with plenty of very capable women and I'm very aware of their skills.
But with strangers? The thoughts do not even take form. I'll just trust my middle aged male doctor more than my young female doctor. Age plays a part in it, even though it should not.
And I do it to myself too. I'll believe that I'm not doing a home repair proficiently enough and ask a male friend or relative for advice, and it will turn out that they know less than me. Which makes sense! Why should they know! Even those who do home repairs on the regular haven't done EVERYTHING.
Anyway, I hate it with a passion and go against this instinct every time I realise I'm falling into it, because it can't be trusted.
For me it is the opposite with doctors. I sooner trust a female doctor of any (if any) specialisation than a male doctor. Middle-aged male doctors will sooner dismiss my ilness or will say it's stress or hormones opposed to female doctors. They at least make me feel they take my symptoms more seriously.
Probably that I assume women should be better than men. Like because my experiences with women have been very comforting and friendship based, I get violently disappointed when women do something bad - far more disappointed than when a man does something bad.
Like when I found out my friend’s girlfriend cheated on them I was like, so hatefully devastated that she would do something so awful. When my friend’s boyfriend cheated on her I was like, god he sucks. No deep disappointment or head shake like I did with the woman. Or when a man supports an abuser I’m like welp okay. When a woman supports an abuser I feel betrayed.
It’s very internalized misogyny of me to hold all women to higher expectations.
Ugh, I have several and I’m really trying to work on them. The biggest one is comparison. I compare myself to other women and have to consciously correct myself when I start to build resentment towards women who are better at something than I am. Especially when that something is a traditionally masculine activity. I am a powerlifter, and this is a huge struggle for me in the gym. Patriarchy tells us that male attention and approval are to be sought after, and in the gym the stronger (and “hotter”) you are, the more of that attention and approval you receive. I’ve worked hard to help cultivate an environment that is supportive to newcomer women in the gym, but when I see other women who are stronger than me, I have to fight the urge to feel jealous and resentful of them. I have to remind myself that my resentment towards them is a product of my internalized misogyny and only helps to uphold the patriarchal standards of gym culture. From newcomers to veteran elites, all women deserve support from one another both in and out of the gym.
Everyone who's just starting out on their fitness journey deserves support from everyone else at the gym, especially the more experienced people. Nothing pisses me off in the gym as much as those who snicker at, or make fun of, those who are just starting out and who are actively working to improve their health and fitness.
I don't know if it fits the usual definition of internalized misogyny, but my worst one lately is expecting myself to be taken less seriously than men, and just generally struggle more in my career. I'm finishing university and want to go into a pretty male-dominated field and feel really pessimistic about it. Even though my personal experience throughout my academic life has been being treated respectfully and taken seriously, I was reading too much online about systemic issues and other people's bad experiences and letting it make me deeply pessimistic and almost hopeless. I had to unfollow a lot of feminist content because of how it was affecting my mental health, even though of course it is important for those stories to be out there.
I've got this now. I'm studying a degree in software development. Some male programmers I know think it's awesome and some have openly voiced that they think I cannot be a programmer because I am female. So now I'm thinking that "if" my female brain can finish the degree I'm going to be judged as inferior by default when I try to get a job in this field. :/
That it's my job to take care of the house. I learned the behavior from my own family. My brother got out of chores by intentionally screwing them up and I'd have to do it several times in a row even if I did something wrong.
Now as an adult, whenever something needs to be cleaned, I'll say, "I need to do the dishes. I need to fold the laundry." Even if my husband is saying he will take care of it, it's already in my head that it's my responsibility to take care of it. I hate that I think that way because it just makes me resentful. I get mad at my husband internally who does genuinely want to help a lot because I feel like he has so much more free time than I do.
I also have thoughts a lot that I'm broken because I don't want children. Most people don't bat an eye about a man not having kids, but women are just expected to want it due to a maternal instinct. I just don't. I feel like I'm supposed to though and it makes me feel like I'm a failure as a woman for being that way.
Try making this little change: Instead of "I need to", change the message to "We need to do XYZ" - then say: "How about you do the dishes while I fold the laundry?" No one can argue that that's not a fair division of labour and you are likely to feel less resentful towards your husband as a result. I completely understand this because I used to do this too (and still do, sometimes). With regard to your last paragraph, I feel your sadness but you are in no way a failure as a woman! Seek out older women who have chosen not to have children and spend time with them - you will hear lovely stories! For myself, I did decide to have children in the end (dearly loved) but most of my friends do not have them. I love their dedication to various protests, travel, reading - I have the best conversations with them! And they love spending time with our kids while I cook them a nice Sunday lunch :) The kids have so many uncles and aunts, and they also grow up seeing that having kids isn't essential.
I always find myself comparing myself to other women through a male gaze. I'm not the jealous type but I look at a woman and I absent-mindedly analyze why anyone would want to date her, sleep with her, be friends with her, hire her etc. It's like there are little men in my brain constantly rating women. It's pathetic.
Everytime I get mad when I see my little lower belly pouch I gotta forcibly remind myself that that’s there to protect a whole internal organ and shouldn’t have ever been shamed
Somewhere in my mind I still automatically go to men when something needs to get done. This is because of years of little comments implying that men are better at doing stuff. Even though in most situations I have been in women have proven to be much more useful. I think it is also a reflection on myself, women are more like me and I don't trust myself to be capable to do a lot of things, while men are much less relatable.
Since having bebbies weakened my hands, I still have to go to my husband to get him to help open the pickle jar. But apart from that, I'm the DIY one in our house (self-taught).
I’m slightly ashamed to admit this but I more harshly judge women who relinquish custody of their children to pursue a life without them than I do men. I cannot imagine leaving my kids to go live a life on my own, I was bonded to them when they were in my belly and could never think of life without them and it’s hard for me to imagine that for another woman who’s bore a child in her womb.
I have resented some women for the idea of their pretty privilege. I consider myself to be smart, hardworking, and disciplined but it always feels like that’s overlooked since I am overweight and feel the need to shirk myself for taking up space. It doesn’t help that I’ve always been told to relegate myself to the background but it totally hurts to shoulder the burden of needing to accept things aren’t “for me” because someone decided I wasn’t good enough for it based on how I look.
If you’re being discriminated against for being fat (are you fat? “Overweight” can mean a lot of things) then that is wrong and needs to be discussed. If you’re MORE resentful of thin women’s privilege than you are about men’s privilege, THAT’S internalised misogyny.
Mothering.
I've been taught to mother as a child. I hate that not only do I mother my own children now as an adult, but I mother actual strangers. I've caught myself doing it, and it's really frustrating.
I do this Not because I give a single solitary s**t about the person who isn't my kid but because it's muscle memory now.
I feel bad when I'm not empathic as I should be and I feel guilty when I get angry because it's not lady like.
I don't like walking around town with my child on my own because I don't want to attract judgement being a single mother.
I don't like talking too much about my job to my male friends because I don't want to come across as better or more capable than them.
My bitten finger nails are uglier on a me than on a guy that also bites his nails.
The beauty standards I have for myself.
My advice is to try skipping ONE beauty thing you don’t like doing, ONE time. You don’t have to commit to everything all at once, but try it and see what it’s like. You might find it’s less scary than you think.
Note: this post originally had 40 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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I don't know why Jared got downvoted either. That was my first response too: I'm so sorry so many people are grappling with this feelings and issues and problems.
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Something I hate is how we are so often told that what we’re experiencing isn’t real, to the point where we doubt our own eyes. Obviously this happens to more than just women, but I hate how if someone does something wrong it’s in our heads. You feel crazy for thinking it was sexist when a male classmate looked right at me and defined a basic word as if I wouldn’t know it when I’m two years younger than him but my scores are higher, or like you must be imagining how that man leered at your chest.
I don't know why Jared got downvoted either. That was my first response too: I'm so sorry so many people are grappling with this feelings and issues and problems.
Load More Replies... Something I hate is how we are so often told that what we’re experiencing isn’t real, to the point where we doubt our own eyes. Obviously this happens to more than just women, but I hate how if someone does something wrong it’s in our heads. You feel crazy for thinking it was sexist when a male classmate looked right at me and defined a basic word as if I wouldn’t know it when I’m two years younger than him but my scores are higher, or like you must be imagining how that man leered at your chest.
