Misogyny: How Does it Shape Politics?

Image - Brett Sayles

Misogyny has been a long standing issue, for many years, stemming from a patriarchal society and the idea that women are not good enough. Whilst yes, this issue has evolved over decades and centuries, where women are finally seeing some semblance of equality compared to our masculine counterparts – we aren’t seeing enough. Our chancellor is being ridiculed with misogynist language, and the leader of the conservatives party, a woman, doesn’t see much of an issue with this. 

Where is the line drawn? How are we, as women, meant to go into politics when our media turns against us on a whim? Is there a place for women in politics in our current world state?

To introduce, misogyny is referred to as the hatred of women, whether it be dismissive remarks, systematic procedures put into place, or even criminal offences with discriminatory thoughts at the forefront. 

Misogyny has been a mainstay in British politics whether we like it or not. We expect our feminine leaders to present ‘masculine features,’ with examples such as Margaret Thatcher’s ‘Iron Lady’ campaign of 1979 coming to mind, or Theresa May’s more recent attempt of ‘Strong and Stable’ leadership in 2017. When a woman shows stereotypical feminine features, being emotional in particular, they are constricted to what is called a ‘double bind.’ 

Theresa May is a particular example of this – from No. 10. she cried, expressing only apologies for the tie that Brexit had left her in, and the stress she was under from the inability to, in her words, ‘get Brexit done.’ This double bind made her more likeable, expressing humanity and making her more realistic to the public. However, it also made her look less ‘competent,’ losing her credibility because her tears are associated with femininity, and not ‘assertiveness.’ This in itself, is already a misogynistic concept, but something that women have to face everyday when it comes to looking at politics. 

Even party policy can be inherently misogynistic whilst trying to empower women. Looking at Labour’s all female shortlist, a major problem with this shortlist is that whilst women are being represented within parliament, it could be said that women are not getting into Parliament via their own merits. Rather, a cause for concern is that it can be argued women are only in parliament, under Labour, because they are women. Not to mention, this shortlist was arguably quite exclusionary of trans women, leading to quite a bit of party in-fighting based on who can claim ‘they are a woman’. Women should not have to feel pit against each other, transgender or cisgender, in order to speak their viewpoint. It adds a layer of intersectional discrimination against trans women that still is not being tackled. 

Whilst yes, research proved these misogynist remarks wrong, the fact that we have to use a shortlist in order to enable women into our system and to raise women in Parliament from 10% just can’t sit right. Women have to do more in order to be seen and recognized – and even then, they are still only 41% of the makeup in the House of Commons (265/650). We have a general systematic problem with women wanting to get involved with politics, and we need to face it from the roots. 

Admittedly, I initially pitched this article to turn our eye towards social media and culture. The media in particular seems to stem a lot of misogyny, when looking at how women are painted. When one positive article is made about a feminine person, another one rips them down. 

However, the problem also lies in our everyday lives. Not only in politics is this issue prevalent, we see this through our culture. Women are brought down to bring another up on a pedestal, inspected through a microscopic lens in order to appease. Even at work, we are more likely than men to be exploited. 

But, to wrap us back into politics, women right now in the UK do not feel safe talking about politics or engaging within political conversation. In fact, women around the world do not want to engage with politics in fear of backlash, when right now, women’s voices are needed more than ever. Women have gone through history being torn down, not even just in the UK. Worldwide, misogyny in politics is a major issue that has not been dealt with thoroughly – whether countries want to admit it or not. We still have major pressure groups who want more change now than ever before because we have the ability to change our systems. 

We are allowed to be critical of our politicians, and we should be. Politicians are there to represent the people, and to represent the communities they are a part of. However, this criticism should not lie in misogynist rhetoric, particularly when it comes to feminine politicians. Not only this, women should be allowed to hold political opinions without any resemblance of fear. We see men be outspoken, allowed to make unnecessary comments on how women act, how they word themselves, every minimal thing microscoped and analyzed. In fact, Reform UK (the party leading the polls as of current)’s leader, Nigel Farage, has been critically evaluated for his language against women. 

I’ve spoken to quite a few of my feminine-aligned friends, and had a similar response from a few of them:

> “I have to assess how I think someone would react to my opinion (...) I change how I express my opinions based on how a man will react.” 

Or merely “I don’t engage with political conversations online.” 

The more women go into politics, and the more women become inspirations for younger generations, the more misogyny becomes rampant. This should be a concern for our societies, that women are being scared into hiding their voices, or the way they express themselves. Misogyny shapes politics in so many ways: whether it be in the household, our culture and who is deemed a celebrity, down to our parliamentary system. Whether we like it or not, political misogyny is rooted everywhere within our society. 

But, weirdly enough: the research shows that women would make possibly even more capable leaders compared to men. Many people in politics cite their families, their mothers as inspiration: ranging from Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and James Cleverly. As young people, inspiration roots from home – from our family. So why is it okay, as people, for us to use misogyny to shape our politics? Even as a university student, I witness my peers (who want to go into politics) cite family (particularly mothers) as their close sources of inspiration. The women in politics, and in our lives, deserve a lot more credit than what is given.

So… what can we do?

Admittedly, there is so much misogyny in politics that it feels like an argument just to decipher what should come first.

Misogyny is a long battle that has to be tackled not only through its state legislature, but through our now seemingly right-leaning world. However, this women’s history month, and with international women’s day having just passed, we should take a step back and appreciate all those who have come before us. Every feminine person involved with politics has paved, carved, and pushed a path for people like me to get involved with politics.

Now, more than ever, they need our voices. 

We define our next generation, and we should be able to speak as freely as we want. Thus, I ask you, reading this article, to appreciate the women (and those who may not be masculine-defined) in your life. Those who have pushed you, and people who have made your life much better by being in it. Appreciate them, empower them, and most importantly, educate yourself. Misogyny can be shown by anyone.