S3 Ep14: Rerun: Kate Manne: Understanding the Logic of Misogyny

Exciting news: I’m writing a book. Less exciting news: This means I have a little less time right now. It’s also summer break, which means things are in a chronic state of chaos.

Lots of podcasts take breaks over the summer, but I didn’t want to do that, especially since I have SO MANY amazing guests lined up for the summer. So instead, I’ll be mixing in some rerun podcasts this summer, to give myself a little more editing time and breathing room. You can expect a new podcast episode at least every other week, with reruns sprinkled in between. This chat with Kate Manne was one of my favorites, and I hope you love it too.

Misogyny isn’t really about hating women. After all, if pure hate explained everything, wouldn’t that mean that only mean men abuse women, and that misogynists never seek relationships with women? Men are able to mistreat women they claim to love because of the internal logic of misogyny. They’re not irrational or unhinged; they’re following a set of rules rooted in entitlement.

Kate Manne is a philosopher who focuses on understanding what’s behind the misogynistic behavior patriarchy creates and enables. She envisions misogyny as a sort of disciplinary tool for reinforcing gendered norms, and preserving men’s access to resources—especially the highly valuable resource of women’s labor.

We cover a lot of ground in this podcast, including:

* The reflexive denial in the media of misogyny.

* Misogyny as a system for enforcing men’s entitlement to women’s labor.

* Why misogyny is not random and not mental illness, but instead a set of corrupt moral values that reflect the values of the wider culture.

* Misogyny as more than mere hatred of women, and why certain women may be more impacted by misogyny than others.

* How not to hate your husband after children…or maybe you should just hate him.

* The normalization of all forms of violence.

* The parallels between misogyny and fascism.