Why won’t the media use the word misogyny?
Misogyny is at the core of these smear campaigns targeting women, yet news coverage consistently avoids naming it.
Misogyny is at the core of these smear campaigns targeting women, yet news coverage consistently avoids naming it.
Same reason that they don’t accuse anyone with any social capital of being racist. There has been enough social progress that we know that being a racist or a misogynist is a very bad thing, though not enough to draw any conclusion beyond it being a bad thing to accuse anyone of these things unless they already have a self-tattooed swastika on their forehead and are serving multiple consecutive life sentences for being a weapons-grade piece of shit. Anything less than that and it’s never racism, just racially charged economic anxiety or whatever. And along the same lines, the white college boys with bright futures who send rape threats are never misogynists, just deeply concerned about integrity in game journalism or whatever.
I’d say, off the top of my head, two reasons:
My bet is, that because it's a really harsh word ... ok, put the pitchfork down please ... What I mean is, that it literally means "hatred of women". And like wow, unfortunately I know some assholes who disrespect women but to hate? Uff, that's something. So my guess is media avoiding it because the response would be "Well I don't hate women! Where did you get that? I sue you!"
Side note: I remember watching on youtube an american lady living in Czechia and she said that Americans are alway exagurating their emotions. Like you're not hungry, you're STARVING! You are not tired you're EXHAUSTED! So is this the same situation? You're not disrespecting you're HATING?
It's kind of like how some people think they "can't be racist" because they never say the N word in mixed company and they have that one black acquaintance, even as they perpetuate racist systems. Similarly, "you can't call me misogynistic, I love women! As long as they stay in the kitchen amirite boys? Haha just kidding. Now where's my dinner?"
Yes, in this situation a "racist" is the right word i.e. a person with prejudice and stereotyping based on a race. So we need exactly word like that, just for the gender/sex. And I was thinking, "misogynist" doesn't fit the definition, but do we have some word like that? And then I said to myself, well yes we do - "sexist" - am I right? "Sexist" is the word that describes this right? I mean I'm just brainstorming ideas here, feel free to correct me
Because all the terrible people have been working the refs. They’ve been accusing the news media of bias, so now the news media avoids words that might make them seem biased, which actually makes them biased in favor of the terrible people.
Because most of the population doesn't know the word, or what it means.
Honestly, it's an 'elite' word and using it will drive viewers away. Sadly.