Misogyny-The World's Oldest Prejudice

I was recently contacted by Jenny Holland, daughter of Irish author, journalist, poet and teacher, Jack Holland 1947-2004, with information on Mr. Holland's posthumously published final work, Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice. Published first in the UK, in August 2006, it saw its American publication a month later. After reading excerpts from the book, and considering my life-long interest in its subject matter, I agreed to read Mr. Holland's attempt to examine the mystery behind the female experience, throughout history.

I am now reading Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice, and am impressed by the author's honest and intelligent presentation. Often, writers' treatments of unpopular truths, are veiled in apologies. Attempts to explain the why and how of deeply rooted, ancient prejudices and attitudes, concerning the female face of our human past, are not uncommon. Yet too often these attempts are subject to a writer's personal prejudices, and agendas. Rarely, are these attempts wholly objective.

Mr. Holland makes no apologies, nor does he attempt to justify what has been the female experience, through the ages. He merely sets before us, Truth, with an eye toward objectivity, and a voice touched with humanity. I am convinced his book may stand as one of the most important, enlightening works, of our time.

Excerpt from the book's forward, written by Jenny Holland:

'The (book's)topic was quite a conversation starter. A common response from other men, when my father told them what he was working on, was an assumption that he was writing some sort of defense of misogyny, a reaction he found startling. Another common response was surprise that such a book should be written by a man. To this, his answer was simple. 'Why not?' he would say, 'It was invented by a man.'--Jenny Holland

Further words from Mr. Holland's daughter:

'He (Jack Holland) was not an academic historian. But the techniques he used in tackling this topic were ones he used to make other conflicts tangible to many readers — his ability to condense difficult, inaccessible material, his deep knowledge of western culture and history, his sympathy for the oppressed, and his lyrical prose style.'
--Jenny Holland

Excerpt from Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice-Chapter Two: Women at the Gates: Misogyny in Ancient Rome

'A difference quickly emerges between the misogyny of the Greeks and that found in Rome. Greek misogyny is based on fears of what women might do if they were free to do it. However, as far as is known, if women challenged men, these actions were confined to their private world and only made public through the realm of the Greek imagination. But from the start, Roman women openly challenged the prevailing misogyny and made public their feelings and demands. Roman women protested their fate and took to the streets. In Rome, the veil of their anonymity was lifted. Women enter the public sphere, and make history. They intervened in wars and stopped them; they took to the streets in protest at government policy and changed it; they murdered their husbands; a few trained and fought as gladiators in the arena (evoking worrying images of Amazons); they subverted the authority of their fathers; they even sought personal satisfaction in their relationships, and rejected their role as breeders of rulers; and, perhaps most disturbingly of all, they came tantalizingly close to political power. They provoked a backlash which mustered some of the biggest guns that literature and history have ever aimed at them.'

Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice

Anne,
I had an interesting e-mail from a visitor to my website, concerning my featuring of Jack Holland's work, Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice. She asked if I didn't think the subject matter of the book was outdated. Do we not, she queried, as women in our modern society, enjoy an equal standing with our male counterparts? She went on to state, that 'as western women, we have more rights today than ever before in the history of the world'. She stated that she believes 'controversial works such as Mr. Holland's do nothing more than attempt to fan the sparks of the dying gender bias debate/hostilities into flames of discontent'. 'We have', she further stated, 'put the struggle behind us. We are moving on, in the modern world, where men and women are now in accord, as to the fact of woman's equal importance, and right to be treated with respect. The majority of men in this country (United States) support women’s' rights and view us as equals'.

The first, and possibly most important fact to point out here, is this woman's omission of any statements concerning our sisters not residing in the western world. Interesting. From this I take it I am to assume, it is only females residing in the west, whose status is of any importance. A bit of the old, 'It's better for us, and that's all that matters!’ attitude.

As to Jack Holland's work not being timely, and relevant, in today's society, I fiercely disagree! How can one imagine we 'have put the struggle behind us', when we have proof to the contrary, yet evident, in every aspect of our society? Does anyone deny more violence is perpetrated against women, by men, in this country, than is committed against their own gender? How many women and children are brutalized, daily, in our society, by men? How much of our western society’s entertainment involves the exploitation of women? Can one state, in all honesty, that women today earn as much as their male counterparts, across the employment spectrum? How often are women yet subject to being referred to by any number of disgusting, derogatory terms, none of which I feel comfortable including here?

'...women are uncreative, afraid of conflict and skeptical of change. Obviously, they would not have suffered such low status throughout the centuries if they had not deserved to.'

A dated statement, you say. A statement taken from something written a hundred, a thousand years ago? No indeed! Why this statement was made on February 11, 2006!

Why are Women Inferior?

Jack Holland’s Misogyny is a must read, not only for women, but for men as well. The book should be in every home, on every bookshelf, and read often, for the truth it states. In Chapter 9 of Mr. Holland’s book, the author quotes George Orwell, and presents us with a profound and relevant statement:

‘To see what is in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle’.

Any woman who believes we've finished the race for equality or have already won, doesn't live in the real world. Sounds like the man in her life has convinced her of this.

I remember reading on this topic and it stated it this way:
Misogyny: The hatred of women, especially by a man.

Thank you so much for posting this important work. It would help all of us to read it.

What? I'm so surprised to hear that any woman would think that a work re: misogyny is untimely! It's as timely as ever. Even when men perpetrate sexual abuse against a man/boy, an underlying motive is hatred of women. Whoever wrote this: "women are uncreative, afraid of conflict and skeptical of change" needs to see "Iron Jawed Angels" which stars Hilary Swank in a docu-drama about he women's suffrage movement. These women were courageous and creative in taking on the challenge of changing the voting rules established by men.

Dianne, if allowed, I'd add 'fear of women', to the definition of misogyny. The uncomfortable twinge of fear, men may experience, when faced with the fact of female intelligence, abilities, and capabilities. Not so very long ago, in our society, women were thought of as being inherently inferior in the aforementioned categories. Today, proof to the contrary is incontrovertible, and thus, a possible reason for an increase, not only in this country, but worldwide, in the instances of violence perpetrated against women. The age-old efforts to ‘keep women in their place’, I believe, possibly has as its core beginning, fear. Simply put:

The fear of any controlling group of the group being controlled.

Anne,

My maternal grandmother was born in 1881, married in 1899. My mother was born in 1918, the ninth of my grandmother's eleven children. My mother made quite certain I was raised with an understanding of exactly how my women ancestors fared, their experiences, their conditions, the few choices they were presented with, in a society wherein they were viewed as less-than, by virtue of their gender. Because of her, I have the insights of women who lived during the Suffrage movement, who remember the introduction of birth control methods, and who experienced the bias demonstrated against women entering the work-force. No one could ever convince me, that misogyny, in some form, has not been responsible for what women have gone through, throughout human history.

Anne, I owe my mother a very real debt of gratitude, for what she passed on to me.

During a recent conversation with my eldest grandson we were discussing the Presidential election in 2008. My grandson asked if I thought we (Americans) would ever see a woman as Head of State. I pointed out to him that in 14 years, this country would celebrate the 100th. anniversary of women being given, granted, gifted with, the right to vote. I told him by 2020, women will have exercised that right 25 times. I also told him I predict that anniversary will come and go, without Americans seeing a single female candidate for the Presidency. My grandson stated this fact alone would seem to prove women's real standing, in our society...From the mouths of babes...I then spoke of Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, and how, upon her election, women took to the streets of Santiago, chanting,
"Ya van a ver, ya van a ver! Quando las mujeres tengan el poder! " ("They will see, they will see! When women have the power!"). My grandson said, to a lot of men in this country, that would sound 'kind of scary'.

Regardless of nationality, Anne, women of the world share one absolute thing in common. We are the original 'oppressed' human beings.

Today, less than one per cent of titled land, in the world, is owned by women. Less than one per cent...Doesn't matter which country is pointing out any other country's flaws, they're all guilty of female discrimination.

Jeannine, what a statistic. I've never read that. Wow, that's amazing. Do you know where you learned that?

Dotsie, I've read the statistic in a number of articles relating to the inequality of land ownership, between the genders, since it first appeared in a report on the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China-September 1995-
Action for Equality, Development and Peace. Here's a quick link to an overview from 1999:
Position Papers: Land Resources Land Management by Diana Lee-Smith, Gender Unit,UNCHS (Habitat) and Catalina Trujillo, Women and Habitat Programme, UNCHS (Habitat},in consultation with the Huairou Commission, 26th October 1999

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/wcaucus/Caucus%20Position%20Papers/land/land.htm

This statistic is once again quoted by Jack Holland in Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice.

Anne, our very biology has been one of the things males have used against us, crazy, isn't it?

As for any period in human history wherein females have stood more or less equal with men...well, some historians swear you can find evidence of this in ancient Celtic culture. Although there has yet to be found enough solid facts to prove positively, that women in this society were thought of in so high a manner. If indeed the Celts did live in a more gender-equal society, it was completely the opposite of the other ancient societies of the time, who looked upon a woman as merely another possession of a man.

In doing family research, while poring over very early American census records, I would often shake my head in disbelief, that women were thought so little of, that they were not included. You find male heads of households, and male children over a certain age, recorded as residing in the home, but it was thought unnecessary to record the female residents.

There is supposed to be a tribe in Africa where women have the say. They even have several husbands. (Who would want that? )
Anyway, I watched this on TV. The men appeared to be insecure and helpless. Strange to see this too common situation for women, in a reversed role. I wonder how this tribe evolved like that. Have you ever heard of them, Jeannine?

Hannelore, I read an article last year about these African women who have had enough:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/08/AR2005070801775.html

Possibly the same group to whom you're referring?

I watched the movie last night on the Turner Oldies but Goodies channel and they had the movie Rooster Cogburn played by John Wayne and his sidekick was Katherine Hepburn. It was a Western and he made the comment, that in the West a good woman was almost as important to a man as a good horse. Katherine says, "almost huh?" That was a truer statement than we know. Great old movie, two fantastic actors.

Jeannine, interesting article. I don't think they are the same tribe or group I was referring to. From what I gathered these women never had to flee. They were always considered the stronger sex.

Chatty, growing up, Kate Hepburn was my idol.

Hannelore, I'd really like to know the title of the piece you saw, so I can keep a look-out for it.

I found an interesting article written shortly after the Amish school shooting tragedy, that tells it like it is, concerning misogyny, now, today.

'The disrespectful, degrading, contemptuous treatment of women is so pervasive and so mainstream that it has just about lost its ability to shock. Guys at sporting events and other public venues have shown no qualms about raising an insistent chant to nearby women to show their breasts. An ad for a major long-distance telephone carrier shows three apparently naked women holding a billing statement from a competitor. The text asks, “When was the last time you got screwed?”'

excerpt from 'Why Aren't We Shocked?' by Bob Herbert

Anne, I know...words fail! I received a note from a woman I've been corresponding with for a number of years. Her seventeen year old son is a fan of such sites as these:

http://whatmenthinkofwomen.blogspot.com/

http://thef-wordblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.mens-links.net/showlinks.asp?category=38

He often speaks fondly of a male teacher who makes such statements as, 'Women are good at one thing, spending a man's money.' This is an educator, ladies, a person who may very well have a great deal of influence on the developing young person's mindset.

Gads, this brought back a very old memory. In the eighth grade I had a male teacher that went on an on about women who put lipstick on in public. It just enraged him! Today, I realize he had a loose screw. His poor wife!

Anne, I am amazed at some of the anti-female sites stinking up the internet! Some of them are just plain 'hate' sites.

I'm no radical feminist. I hold no gender above the other. But I have to tell you, the number of pro-misogyny sites out there makes me rather uncomfortable.

Anne, it's par for the course, isn't it? We're divided against one another, by gender, age, race, religion, and on and on it goes. Someday human beings will finally 'get it', and realize the only way to make real human progress, is by standing united.

My eldest daughter is employed at a company involved in an area long a bastion of males only, especially in management positions. She has recently been given a division managership for this company. She has apprised me of the less than 100% support she received, on her way to this position, from a great many men. As leader of a team of employees, all men, she found them at first unwilling to, as she put it, 'follow instructions'. She called her heads of departments into her office, and let them know, she was there to succeed at her job, and if they weren't there to succeed at theirs, they would be replaced. After that meeting, she had no more problems. As she put it to me, 'I was not about to be bullied, in any way, by anyone'. She also said she found it so hard to understand why, when she's able, and capable, she had to put up with anti-female attitudes.

Quote:

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everything to do with bad attitudes and lack of skills of the man (men) and the old-boys-school mindset

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Great bit of insight there, Anne.


I have a granddaughter, and I am very conscious of the under-current of misogyny, prevalent, not only in other countries, but in our own nation, today. As I said before, I am no radical feminist, but, I realize the cold hard fact, that women's rights, as we know them, are not protected, fully, by law. The only right that the United States Constitution specifically affirms, equally, for women and men, is the right to vote. Sometimes, Anne, I ponder long and hard, upon the significance of this fact.