On the internet, it is common to call a guy a misogynist, but what is the exact meaning of misogynist? Is it 1. A guy who hates women? Or 2. a guy who thinks men are superior. Or 3. A guy who believes in women should follow traditional norms like cooking. 

  • southsamurai
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    669 months ago

    All of the above.

    Words very often have multiple definitions, or usages.

    The word misogyny comes from Greek roots, miso (hatred), and gyne (woman). So misogynist literally means woman hater.

    However, the form that the hate can take may not be the kind of rabid, foaming hatred you think of as hate. It can include anything from dislike or mistrust, up to the extreme of hatred.

    It can also include prejudice against women, which isn’t necessarily hate in the usual sense, but has the same effect.

    More, when using it as a bigoted person that the bigotry is focused on women, it can definitely include stereotyping and the propagation of stereotyping.

    The term does get a little over used to include people that are just poorly informed rather than those that actively practice misogyny as a belief, but even that still applies in usage.