Reclaiming misandry from misogynistic rhetoric

Abstract

In recent years, misogyny has become a central concept in philosophy as well as an established concept in public discourse and political policy. But where is misogyny’s supposed counterpart, namely, misandry? In this article, I argue for an ameliorative analysis of ‘misandry’, arguing that it can be reformulated in an effort to reclaim it from misogynistic weaponisation. The term ‘misandry’ is used almost exclusively as a misogynistic rhetorical device for attributing unjust anger, hatred or other similar emotions to a speaker, thereby undermining their epistemic authority. Rather than dismissing the term as conceptually flawed and politically problematic, I argue that we ought to ameliorate misandry to instead refer to a felt anger, hostility or fear towards the patriarchal social order and its valorisation and/or expression in misogynistic and machismo behaviour. To support these claims, I begin with a discussion of Kate Manne’s analysis of misogyny before reflecting on how this can inform our understanding of misandry. I then demonstrate the various ways in which misandry is rhetorically deployed as a means of silencing speakers who express dissent against the patriarchy. Following this, I argue that we should ameliorate the term, not only to undermine these misogynistic practices but also to articulate a legitimate affective and reactive attitude against the patriarchal imposition of a hierarchical gender binary.