WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
Misogynist Bullying in the Salem Witch Trials Still Echoes Today
Women are like dandelions growing through the cracks in the sidewalk
In the 1600s, Salem’s Courthouse was named “The Court of Oyer and Terminer.” Between February 1692 and May 1693, over 200 individuals in colonial Massachusetts faced accusations of witchcraft, in what would be one of the darkest chapters in American history.
This period of fear and injustice was fueled by a mix of fear towards outsiders, extreme religious beliefs, and societal tensions nourished by ancestral misogyny, which I often refer to as the “Patriarchy Cult” in my academic papers and presentations.
In my research about the trials, I’ve seen that many authors still argue it all began in a community gripped by paranoia and suspicion. Sure, the conflict with France during King William’s War — an armed dispute between England and France in North America in the 17th century — uprooted people, creating an atmosphere of distrust, but there was more to it than that.
Accusations of witchcraft predominantly targeting women quickly spiraled out of control, leading to trials and executions that epitomized scapegoatism, injustice, and abuse of power by misogynist bullies.
