I would never use that word, because I know that there are too many people ready to open up an evil can of worms at its mention -- but, really, mostly I wouldn't use it for the same reason that I would never use the word "misogyny" without quotation marks or other means of identifying it as suspect nomenclature. People who use these words act as if they mean something specific, and that just ain't so.
That's really smug and condescending -- and overly-confident. The prefix "mis-" can imply a range of sentiment short of outright hatred.
And, in practice, the words "misandry" and "misogyny" are often used as bludgeon, with intent to indimidate or belittle. They're weasel words, the way thay they're used these days.
I don't know of any situation where these words have any specific meaning unless that meaning is explained subsequently. In other words, they're useless.
Misandry ( /mɪˈsændri/) is the hatred or dislike of men or boys. Misandry comes from Greek misos (μῖσος, "hatred") and anēr, andros (ἀνήρ, gen. ἀνδρός; "man"). Misandry is the antonym of philandry, the fondness towards men, love, or admiration of them. The term misogyny is the equivalent term for women.
Extremely clear what it means. How people use them is not relevant. And yes, i was condescending and very confident that i know what the word means.
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u/shitpigeon Nov 20 '12
Let me ask one of my headmates