For ‘distinguished social acceptance’, for ‘genuine male attention’, for ‘self-proclaimed distinction’ from the significant others, a large fraction of females tend to seek refuge under what in contemporary times is labelled as ‘internalized misogyny. It is indeed a blinkered behaviour that women inflict not only upon others but also upon themselves. The catchphrase of ‘I ain’t like other girls!’ is the biggest and the most evident of all visible manifestations of internalized misogyny where not only does an entire gender community gets bracketed within certain false stereotyped generalizations, but this also draws the analogy that the other women are comparatively undesirable, so as to prove one’s superiority over the said majority.
This transforms the collective task of development of a particular gender community that historically does have a subjugated backdrop into the internal competition, which in no sense can be termed healthy. A product of patriarchy and an exact opposite of the essence that drives feminism, internalized misogyny makes women believe that they inherently are supposed to follow and not lead, and thus when the league is broken, criticism surfaces.
Constant competition for either male attention or simply for the quest of looking better, women today see each other as competitors rather than fellow beings. The idea of women being ‘catty’ and inherently averted to other women’s success stems from the patriarchal mindset which seeks to define femininity as full of natural flaws. Women being brought up in patriarchal households tend to adopt this thought process and turn out to be one’s own foe. ‘Two girls can’t be true best friends’, phrases like these which apparently are approved by women themselves ingrain within our minds that there does exist something wrong within a particular gender, ultimately leading to larger misogyny.
It is indeed the household, particularly in India, where the initial seeds of internal misogyny are planted by the very female members of the family. “Let your brother play outside, I’ll guide you how to shape perfect Rotis”, “Do not enter the temple premises, you are menstruating!”, “Don’t talk about periods and pads in public, have some shame!”, aforementioned are some of the most derogatory statements which are majorly made by the female guardians, compelling the younger ones to rethink their gifted femininity. This vicious cycle of household-induced gendered prejudice gets entrenched within the roots of the society and gives the final touches to internalized misogyny. ‘
Internalized misogyny tattered feminism. While this seems kind of obvious, the anti-feminist stance that most women take, roots from a place of deep-rooted aversion to all things feminine and is both concerning and scary.
A lot of women who we come across in our regular lives simply refuse to be called ‘feminists’ because to them feminism is bigoted and implies misandry, resulting in the weakening of feminism itself, a movement that seeks to secure equality for both an even more.
Slut-shaming that often stems from ‘fashion differences’ as a result of mutual female hatred is one of the ugliest profiles of internalized misogyny that rips apart the zeal to celebrate womanhood by being comfortable within one’s own skin. There absolutely exists no reason that skirts should be inferior to pantsuits, they’re all-powerful because the women in them are powerful. It is not about the apparel that envelopes their body, it is the thoughts that empower them to lead and achieve.
The list of apparent manifestations of internalized misogyny is in-exhaustive, but the fact that mutual female hatred is much more disastrous than cross-gender misogyny and is a bigger hindrance in the path of feminism is entirely true. It is thus in the absolute favour of today’s woman that she learns to accept herself and others and starts celebrating the joy of sheer womanhood.
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