"Misogyny: dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women."  While as a woman I have been highly aware of misogyny in daily life, recently it seems to be absolutely pervasive in popular culture.  With the recent Santa Barbara killings, social media (and real media) have been overflowing with discussion about sexism and how it affects both women and men.  It's especially been considered as it relates to the actions of the perpetrator of the Santa Barbara killings (who will never be named in this blog--I refuse to give him the recognition he so violently sought).  

In a very telling article about the perpetrator and his "friends,"  all of whom participated in a Pickup Artist Hate (PUAHate) online community, the perspectives of a [hopefully] very unique group of people were shared.  These people, exclusively male as represented in the article, are a community who discuss their hate of women who, according to them, refuse them the sex they deserve.  In this community they condone rape, revere those who use force to gain influence over women, discuss their plans to "kill the entire school,"  encourage each other to write manifestos declaring their hate of women, critique the bodies and sexual choices of women, and honor the name of the perpetrator.  This is the community that the perpetrator was a part of, posting in the community "Women are the Enemy.  You need to start seeing them as enemies...they torture you, starve you of sex, and humiliate you...women are the ultimate cause of your suffering.  They are the ones who have UNJUSTLY made our life a hell." 

So, despite this, and many other misogynistic comments writing and recorded by the perpetrator, why is it that the first explanation people have for the perpetrator's killing spree is unwell mental health?  When so much evidence demonstrates the role of a boy's unrealistic expectations of women that are a result of his understanding of his and women's cultural contexts, why is it that mental disorder is always the immediate explanation (at least for white men--it's terrorism for minorities). 

I'm not saying that mental health problems didn't play a role in the perpetrator's choice to kill innocent people, but I am saying that the many individuals who have exclusively explained the perpetrator's actions with mental health are somewhat missing the boat.  Our society is so blind to misogyny that even when a person's hate for women is blatantly stated, we ignore it and explain it away.  That just seems silly to me.  It's similarly concerning that when intelligent and highly informed female experts assert the role of misogyny in violence [some, but not all] men so vehemently take offence, go on the defensive, and play the victim.  As if because "not all men" violently react like the perpetrator, misogyny is not actually an existing phenomenon.  

Not only does this response continue to allow us as a society to ignore the role of misogyny in violence against women, but also allows us to perpetuate stereotypes about mental health and people with mental health concerns.  In perpetuating these stereotypes we continue to allow people to believe that individuals with mental health conditions are unstable, violent, and dangerous (which is generally not the case). This stereotype prevents normal people who have actual mental health problems from getting the help they need because they fear that they will be assumed to be like "that man who shot up a sorority."

Let's not allow the evil acts of one person to domino into residual impact on additional individuals. Let's, for once, acknowledge the role that culture plays in our perception of violence.  We're only harming ourselves, men and women, by ignoring it.


Keep on thinking,
Josie