The Origin of Misogyny in the Patriarchal Society

Psychodynamic and Cultural Considerations

Authors

  • Gabriella Judith Kengyel egyetemi tanársegéd, Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Bölcsészet- és Társadalomtudományi Kar https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8712-0379 (unauthenticated)
  • Hungarian pszichológus, Alkohol- és Drogsegély Ambulancia, Veszprém
  • Hungarian pszichológus, Questionardo Ltd., London
  • Hungarian pszichiáter, pszichoterapeuta, Rózsakert Medical Center, Budapest

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61177/HISZ.2024.15.1.8

Keywords:

misogyny, psychoanalysis, sexism, partiarchy, philosophy

Abstract

Nowadays, alongside with the slow disintegration of the patriarchal society, prejudices against women and fears about them are increasing, and at the same time hateful remarks are becoming more common in public discourse and in relationships. The authors present a cultural historical overview to discover the origins of misogyny and, in this context, the social reactions to the four waves of feminism. They also provide an overview of how early psychoanalytic theories nourished men’s fear of women and how one-sided the concept of femininity was in early psychoanalysis, as well as how it is still present in theoretical texts today. How could Freud be so wrong about women when he was the one who was able to create a universal understanding and lay the foundations of personality functioning, psychopathology and treatment relying on a sensitive introspection of his own and others' emotional difficulties? How could Ferenczi, who is today considered an early forerunner of intersubjectivity, have also such a wrong opinion about women? In the article, the authors also point out the role of transgenerational microtraumas of social psychological and individual developmental psychological processes in the persistence of misogyny. According to the authors' hypothesis, the recurrence of individual microtraumas over generations and their psychodynamic relations to each other make the fight against misogyny very difficult.

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Published

28-06-2024

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Studies

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