Do “sexism” and “misogyny” imply differing degrees of severity? “Sexism” to me conveys something like an old-fashioned guy saying something like “Girls can’t do that”, while “misogyny” conveys something like a serial killer targeting women or the Taliban oppressing women.
I’ve always thought of sexism as a bias toward or against a particular sex. Misogyny is more of a hatred toward women in general.
For starters, sexism can be aimed at either sex, and misogyny is specifically aimed at women.
Sexism may be based in “harmless” beliefs. The “man cold” is an example of stupid, ‘harmless’ sexism - the idea that when they’re sick, men become big babies who need their mommy/wives to look after them. Misogyny and misandry are characterised by a hatred of the gender involved.
“Let me move that cupboard for you, it’s heavy work that a man should be doing” - a belief that women are frailer than men, and a half-assed, often well-meaning, attempt to “protect” the woman from injuring herself.
“I’m glad that fucking man-pig got his cock cut off and fed to the garbage disposal. All men are scum” - a hatred of a certain subset of the population based on nothing more than the genitalia they’re born with.
What’s the term for sexism aimed at men?
Sexism
Isn’t that sexist? Why don’t we get our own word?! 
Misandry.
Thank you! Learned something new today!
Nowadays misogyny seems to be used in the same context “sexist” would be used. So I think that, while it may have originally had a stronger and somewhat different connotation, today it basically means the same thing. I don’t like this, because I do think that misogyny has a much stronger connotation and that it’s overblown and unwarranted to use the term to describe things like - for instance - a man who is a womanizer. I hear (and read) lots of people calling the character of James Bond a misogynist. Why? Does he hate women? No. Is there even any proof that he looks down on women? No. Is it because he fights female enemies who try to seduce him and kill him? Why would that make him a misogynist? I don’t even think it makes him a sexist, just a man who has sex with a lot of women. Should he be having sex with men, too? I’ve seen people call Freemasonry misogynistic because it doesn’t allow women to join. That doesn’t mean they hate women! Male college students can’t join sororities. Does that mean that sororities hate males?
No. Misandry is analagous to misogyny. Sexism is a gender-neutral term.
Misogyny is a particular type of sexism. It means hatred of women. Lots of sexists think women are inferior to men but they don’t hate women. Those sexists aren’t misogynists.
A womanizer could be a misogynist. There are lots of men who want to sleep with lots of women because they like women. Then there are the guys who think women are good for only one thing, and those guys are misogynists. If you enjoy sleeping with women because you like using and degrading them, then you’re a misogynist. If you have contempt for a woman because she had sex with you, then you’re a misogynist.
Which raises the questions:
a) Is it sexist if it’s true, and
b) Is it sexist if the “victim” of the sexism is the one saying it?
Because whenever I’m at work, and heavy things are to be carried, there is a sudden appearance of feminine daintiness. I believe in equality, however, so I allow them to continue carrying the heavy boxes.
Cos you don’t - fucking - listen!
Saying that women are weaker than men is sexist. Saying that a particular woman is weaker than a particular man isn’t. It’s still sexist if a woman says it. I get the same appearance of feminine daintiness when it comes to heavy boxes and killing bugs at work, and I also believe in equality. I’ll carry a box if I know the person’s having a hard time with it, but they can kill their own bugs.
Meh not quite. When speaking generally, the first statement is merely factual. The vast majority of women are physically weaker than the vast majority of men. There are of course exceptions on both ends in both genders. A statement like that could be sexist in context but standing alone could be a generally spoken fact.
“All women are weaker then men”- Sexist
“Women are weaker then men”- Sexist in context
“Most women are weaker then most men”- Not sexist, though not very PC either.
“This woman is weaker then most men”-Not sexist
“This woman is weaker than that man”- not sexist
Mostly, I agree, but I’m wondering if it’s at least theoretically possible to be misogynist (or misandrist) without being sexist. Can a person have a general hatred or contempt for women (or for men) without believing stereotypes or behaving in a prejudicial manner toward anyone?
On behalf of all the women who do this, my apologies. We have quite a bit of heavy lifting to do in our office, an office full of women, and we all do it ourselves.
A square is always a rectangle but a rectangle isn’t always a square.
Ooh, can I share an anecdote illustrating sexism? I work in a library, and it’s part of my job to push heavy carts of books and carry piles of books to and fro. I can lift at least 40 pounds and carry it down the hall without needing help. Creepy Dude Who Hangs Around Too Much saw me carrying a pile of books this morning, asks me if I need help, I say no thanks while without waiting for my answer, he tries to take the pile of books out of my arms. I jerked away while saying, “Absolutely not, I do this all the time,” and continued carrying my, oh, five-pound pile down the hall. What an ass.
So many wrongs there – He assumed I was weak. He didn’t wait for my answer to his offer for help. He didn’t respect my answer. He physically reached into my arms and tried to take what I was holding. I’m so angry right now.
“Feminine daintiness”? So the women in your office claim that they’re unable to lift boxes because they’re women, and/or that all women can’t lift boxes?
Because you see, there are a number of women in my office whom I’d offer to lift things for, because they are physically smaller and less strong than I am, even though we both have vaginas. I don’t lift boxes for them because they’re women. I lift boxes for them because I’m not an asshole.