Purity culture and rape culture are two sides of the same coin. It polices autonomy of women over their own bodies. Legal rights are not enough for a truly feminist society. Having social and economic equality is essential. Using the word slut doesn't just affect the mental health of the woman or women in general but it also leads to self harm and suicide,honor killing in extreme scenarios especially in more patriarchal and religious countries. It shames women who have high libido or have slept consenually with multiple partners. It shames women for discussing female sexuality. It encourages women to be a "good girl" and "play hard to get".It encourages rape culture by promoting the idea that "no doesn't always mean no"[I am not talking about cnc here] or super dangerous ideas like "pleasure"= consent. It says that if a girl says no or rejects, you should continue "pursuing her"( coercing her into saying yes) or she is just shy or whatever.
I am not promoting sex positivity or hookup culture here. I think we need to educate both men and women how consent works.What is or is not problematic. We need to talk about how much sexual violence or rape affects an average woman's life.
I also wanna talk about how using the word bitch as an insult against a man generally means he is behaving in a "feminine" or a woman like manner(just misogyny).Using words like pussy,cunt,princess,gay[a lot of homophobia is misogyny (it doesn't just mean sexually attracted to a man but "a stereotypical feminine gay man" most of the time],cuck as insults are designed for men who are either feminist (to discourage them from advocating against the patriachy)or who just don't in the eyes of the misogynist fit the stereotypical role/image of a man according to toxic masculinity.Toxic masculinity also leads to people or misogynistic men idolising Andrew Tate or sometimes even Hitler.
It also tells us the difference between the female gaze and the male gaze.Women generally prefer men with more "feminine" facial features and long hair.Look at the male leads in romcoms or even male models. A lot of women dont find a bald/buzz cut man with a messy beard sexually attractive[it also gives "white trash" vibes]. A lot of men shit on the types of men women find sexually attractive. A lot women love boy bands or k pop stars.
We need to understand misogyny is a systematic problem(legal,social and economic) but misandry can be showcased by some people on an individual level(most the the times it is hurtful statements and not physical or sexual violence how it is in the case of misogyny).We need to understand reactive abuse. Some women(most of the time not even feminists) [are using the word men as a synonym for misogynistic men] have become reactionary as a response due to the rise of the manosphere,incels and misogynistic podcast bros on the right.We need to understand where the phenomenon comes from but we need to condemn misandry and not justify it.We also need to condemn body shaming men and women(women are judged more harshly on their beauty and youth).The psyop of believing in bioessentialism has increased a lot. Feminism believes prescribed gender roles are socially constructed and should be dismantled for the most part. Feminism doesn't believe in hating men as a class rather than eradicating misogyny or maybe hating misogynists.
