Do You Have Internalized Misogyny? Take This Quiz to Find Out!
What is internalized misogyny?
Misogyny = hatred of women. While sexism refers to prejudice and discrimination against female-presenting people, misogyny is the underlying attitude of hatred towards femininity and those who embody it.
Internalized misogyny is when those societal attitudes seep into the minds of women and stick there, causing women to feel hatred towards themselves, other women, or femininity in general.
Women are raised our whole lives surrounded by constant societal messages that demean our inherent worth and capabilities. Those messages seep in and get stuck inside our brains, and after enough exposure to sexist messages, we internalize those beliefs.
We start to believe that we really are inferior. And without meaning to, we perpetuate that belief in ways that harm ourselves and other women (Bearman, Korobov, & Thorne, 2009).
For example, the first question on our handy quiz asks if the quiz-taker calls fellow Meredith students “girls.” While this is generally done with good intentions, it subtly demeans the authority of the women being described, since “girl” is primarily defined as “a female child.”
But Meredith students are constantly kicking @$$ at life: working hard at multiple jobs and internships, excelling in their studies, & serving as leaders in their communities. If we take them seriously, we will do them the justice of referring to them as women, as capable adults.
And maybe “girl” doesn’t rub you the wrong way when it’s used for an 18-year-old student, but what about a 22-year-old? A 45-year-old WINGS student? Where is the line?
We don’t call each other girls to be intentionally demeaning — we have simply internalized a societal understanding of women that infantilizes us and doesn’t take us seriously as fully capable adults in the same way it does men.
A couple of the quiz questions referred to our internalized belief that a woman’s value depends on her finding a husband and children. We expect other women to factor their future marriage and family into their life plans while not holding that same expectation for men.
There’s nothing wrong with talking to your friends about your hopes & dreams for your future families. What’s wrong is that we expect our female peers/colleagues to build their lives around these plans without even asking the same types of questions to our male friends.
Same concept: when you say Cornhuskin’ is a silly waste of time, it might not hurt to examine why you’re doing so. Could it be because Corn reflects too much of conventional femininity, and you feel you must distance yourself from femininity in order to be successful as a woman?
Remember, we ALL have internalized misogyny inside us. No matter how you “did” on our quiz, it told you that there’s a good chance these demeaning attitudes towards women have leaked from our patriarchal society into your brain.
That’s not your fault! And we don’t want to shame anyone here. We just want to recognize that we all carry the responsibility to recognize these attitudes inside us and deliberately choose not to perpetuate them.
If we dig deep and uncover the misogyny that’s been shoved inside our own brains, we’ll be more empowered to dismantle institutional sexism wherever we go.
REFERENCES
Bearman, S., Korobov, N., & Thorne, A. (2009). The fabric of internalized sexism. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 1(1), 10–47. Retrieved from http://jiss.org/documents/volume_1/issue_1/JISS_2009_1-1_10-47_Fabric_of_Internalized_Sexism.pdf
QUIZ QUESTIONS IN TEXT FORM
Do you refer to other students at Meredith College as “girls”?
Do you find yourself wishing you went to a coed school because an all-women’s school is “too much drama”?
Do you distance yourself from other women due to perceived superiorities you have in comparison?
Do you feel sorry for older women who are unmarried and/or childless?
Do you criticize other women for dressing in too-revealing clothing or wearing too much makeup?
Do you feel uncomfortable with a woman posting thirst traps on Instagram or being too open with her sexuality?
Do you find it impossible to discuss career goals and aspirations with other women without bringing up marriage and children?
Do you plan on a future in a “serious” field like STEM or business because fields like fashion, design, and education are just too frivolous?
Regardless, your answer is… YES, you have internalized misogyny!
