Is feminism the same as misandry? Many believe feminism is not meant to empower women, but rather to bring men down.

Other feminists and social justice speakers have commented on the debate by feminism is a movement to promote misandry.

So, are there man-hating feminists? The short answer is many.

You might hear people say "men are aggressive" or "all men are stupid". These are some statements you might hear from misandrists, especially if there's an emphasis on all men.

What is Misandry?

Misandry is almost a double standard. If anyone were to make the same kind of statements about women, it would be just blatant sexism, which it is. Misandry takes its name from those who are rallying to the defence of generalisations against men.

I read a Quora quote saying, 'Feminism isn't about egalitarianism. If women are equal to men, then everybody gets the same harm as men. Feminism is about being better for everybody'. This is essentially justifying the existing hate for men, and that if women were to achieve the same universal equality as men, then they'd receive the same treatment and misandry, albeit in a different way.

Misandry stems from arbitrary standards for certain genders. Women automatically see masculine stereotypes as prescribing to all men (such as being violent, dominant, and being a prominent leader). This goes both ways; men see all women as having similar characteristics and expectations that teach women to be weaker, submissive, and domesticated.

Lots of men see women as people who expect to be oppressed by those (men) above them. These gender dynamics contribute to misandry, as general masculine treatment of women (throughout history) means women are more susceptible to having an ideology based around 'man-hating' or 'resisting men'. The term generally comes from a hatred of rapists and misogynistic people.

The traits ascribed to men and women can be found in the opposite genders, but the influence of famous masculine figures (such as Andrew Tate and Ben Shapiro) means that men are thus attributing to the traits that were ordained at the start of time, or from as early as we see men in power. This is where the gender conflict begins, and where misandry bleeds into conversations on accredited gender roles.

Of course, these traits in men aren't across the entire masculine scope, as some men are totally against the behaviours you would usually associate with being "manly" or "masculine". Generalisation often defeats the whole objective of identifying the problems in gender debates. It's like finding a bad sweet in a pack of good ones.

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Misogyny and Misandry

Misogyny is bigger than one's feelings; it's more about bigotry and how it is built into culture. While you can label someone's dislike for men as 'misandry' and still be correct, there is no misandry that exists in the same way that misogyny exists. Misandry isn't institutionalised; rather, it is just used by women usually to express a hatred for the ones responsible for their subjugation.

Misogyny and sexism against women are more intentional, institutional ways of dismissing women and enforcing the masculine agenda. Lots of men go out of their way to weaponise their masculinity, and this is entrenched in society, whereas most women don't want to start a societal aversion.

Society is built upon inequality in anything: race, gender, sexuality, and minorities. So, people might be sexist in their personal feelings about men, but there is no institutionalised discrimination against men as there is against women.

Misogyny has killed women, and misandry has only angered men. There's a certain difference to this, and feminists don't mean to diminish men completely, but rather to hold them accountable for the years of harm and damage inflicted upon women.

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Is Misandry Categorical?

Yes, there's great categorisation for this, but to eliminate generalisation, there needs to be more layers and words to describe particular men in their behaviours, attitudes, and personal mentalities. For simplicity, misandry acts as a prejudice against men for preference's sake, not one that, in most cases, is induced in a woman's behaviour.

Egalitarianism (where all people deserve equal rights) links closely to feminism in how some feminists cloak misandry in the guise of equal opportunity. However, most feminists are not misandrists; this is only used by anti-feminist reactionaries who want to bring down women with the claim that all women hate men. Misandry is an extreme.

So why do people think feminism is misandry?

Feminism is all about making women equal to men. Ensuring that the gender balance between men and women is of equal weighting is the main priority for feminists, not to downplay men, but to uplift women. That's the goal.

I think it's very rare that a woman hasn't experienced oppression from a man. Misandry only acts as a response against this frustration, and feminists especially are more prone to carry these feelings based on their own views on men and how women exist below men, and have for as long as one can recollect.

We exist in a patriarchy, whether people choose to believe this or not. Women have advanced so much in recent years; since the feminist movement of the 1970s, women have gained considerable autonomy, such as in the workforce, in relationships, and in personal liberty.

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However, there's still a long way to go. Men still oppress women (although this may sound generalised, again, it's too common to disregard), and patriarchal values are often favoured. Feminists exist in an attempt to create balance and gender equality, and in a way, misandry is just an extreme form of feminism. For those who want to disregard men completely, they can be seen as misandrist, though efforts to overthrow the patriarchy are very minimal, and surpass any feminist or misandric ideology and step into a matriarchal worldview.

Some matriarchs probably start as misandrists, but to avoid overcomplication, feminism is not a prideful or greedy ideology that drives women to believe they are better than men. A woman's misandry comes from the discrimination against men, but to a level which is beyond just advocating for the rights of women.

Misandrists don't think women are the superior species, but think men are a cursed, accountable species (if you must), and thereby make women the [censored] of a higher level (in their mind, but it's never projected, because women usually don't have this transgressive mindset).

Is feminism a form of misandry?

Feminism is not misandry, only if it's taken to a higher level, as some feminists have this fuelling man-hating belief system, stemming from the patriarchal system that convinces society that women exist to serve men.

Misandry can exist independently of oppression and can appear in more than just isolated cases. While feminism can make some women develop misandrist views, feminism can exist without being tied to misandry.

You can see misandry in the media and online spheres where extreme misandrist rhetorics seem pretty normalised. Prejudice is complex, and misandry is a reactive discrimination to misogyny, but is only part of the story; oppression can lead to resentment towards those who oppress or who oppressed a particular group.

Many believe extreme misandry doesn't justify harmful ideas about an entire gender, but misandry certainly doesn't cause any problems directly to the man. It is more so for the woman to develop feelings towards men who are constantly getting away with bad behaviours such as domestic assault, sexual abuse, rape, intimidation, and acts of mansplaining.

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Conclusions

Man-hating feminists exist, no doubt. This all stems from the past and ongoing treatment of women and how men use sexism to feed into the masculine program, and misandry certainly comes from a categorical point of view and is often broadly generalised in how it groups men into one being.

Many people understand misandry as a response to misogyny, and feminism also acts as a reaction to put an end to sexism, and to redefine the position of a woman in a male-dominated society.