These terms and words with their underlying meanings can enhance your vocabulary and understanding. What makes one smart is one's capability of understanding and explaining reality in better terms and these lessons on vocabulary will help you to do so.
Important Note! You can check out the examples in the "Join the Conversation" section below! You can share your thoughts on these concepts and share sentences using these words to help out others.
Words and terms related to Feminism1. Patriarchy
Meaning: A hierarchical-structured society in which men hold more power than women.
Example: He does not deem women as equal to men because he is patriarchal.
2. Sexism
2. Sexism
Meaning: The idea that women are inferior to men.
Example: But despite all of this women still earn less than men and have to contend with sexism in the media and advertising.
3. Misogyny
3. Misogyny
Meaning: Hatred of women.
Example: His remarks on women were misogynistic.
4. Misandry
4. Misandry
Meaning: Hatred of men.
Example: It is often the case that men confuse feminism with misandry.
5. Hostile sexism
5. Hostile sexism
Meaning: Openly insulting, objectifying and degrading women.
Example: Examples of hostile sexism include beliefs about women as incompetent, unintelligent, overly emotional, and sexually manipulative.
6. Benevolent sexism
Meaning: Less apparent. Even though it stems from men's superiority complexes, it kind of sounds like a praise. It occurs when men assert that women are more nurturing than men or that they should be protected (off a sinking boat first) (therefore should raise children).
Example: Poets are usually inflicting benevolent sexism in their verses presenting women as fragile objects meant to be cherished rather than portraying them as thinking and feeling human beings.
7. Internalized sexism
7. Internalized sexism
Meaning: When the belief in women's inferiority becomes part of one's own worldview and self-concept.
Example: Because of internalised sexism it seems just natural that women are weaker than men.
8. Transgender
Meaning: A person whose gender identity differs from the cultural expectations of the sex they were assigned at birth.
9. Transphobia
9. Transphobia
Meaning: Prejudice toward trans people.
Example: His transphobic behaviour was appalling.
10. Non-binary
10. Non-binary
Meaning: An umbrella term for people who don't identify as female/male or woman/man.
Example: Mikel defines himself as non-binary.
11. Victim-blaming
11. Victim-blaming
Meaning: When victim is held guilty and blamed for the act of violence, harm o crime inflicted on them. It is victim blaming when someone asks what the victim could have done to have avoided or stopped a crime. When instead of the criminal the victim becomes focus of discussion and blame. This makes it more difficult for people to come forward and report abuse because they are afraid to become focus of discussion for the crazy mob. Often women are held guilty for violence committed by men.
Example: She was out at night time, it's her fault that she was raped. Her clothes were arousing and that's why she was raped. That's victim-blaming.
12. Male gaze
12. Male gaze
Meaning: A way of looking at the world through a masculine lens that views women as sexual objects.
In movies, literature and sexist worldview women are portrayed and praised for their outer beauty as passive agents and objects of cherisment for male viewers and characters. Take Helen of Troy, she is remembered for her beauty, not personality or soul. Women are exoticised.
13. Privilege
Meaning: The idea that some people in society are advantaged over others.
Example: In patriarchal society men are privileged over women.
14. Rape Culture
Meaning: A society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalising or trivialising sexual assault and abuse.
Our society has a very rampant rape culture since rape and assault are not only common, but they are also normalised and justified in popular culture and the media. Misogynistic rhetoric, the commodification of women's bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence in movies and television all contribute to the perpetuation of rape culture. Victim blaming, sexually graphic jokes, downplaying the crime ("boys will be boys"), and encouraging ladies to defend themselves rather than educating boys to not be offensive are a few manifestations of rape culture.
15. Bropropriating
Example: In patriarchal society men are privileged over women.
14. Rape Culture
Meaning: A society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalising or trivialising sexual assault and abuse.
Our society has a very rampant rape culture since rape and assault are not only common, but they are also normalised and justified in popular culture and the media. Misogynistic rhetoric, the commodification of women's bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence in movies and television all contribute to the perpetuation of rape culture. Victim blaming, sexually graphic jokes, downplaying the crime ("boys will be boys"), and encouraging ladies to defend themselves rather than educating boys to not be offensive are a few manifestations of rape culture.
15. Bropropriating
Meaning: Men plagiarising women's ideas or taking credit for women's accomplishments.
16. Mansplain (verb) mansplainy (adjective)
Meaning: When a man explains something to a woman in a condescending way when he either 1) doesn't know anything about it or 2) knows far less than the woman he is talking to. Or when a man explains what a woman meant in saying what she said.
Example: Oh let me explain it for you, what she means is that..
17. Manterrupting
Meaning: When a man interrupts a woman, especially excessively. Examples: During the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when Kanye West grabbed the mic from Taylor Swift, who had just won an award and was trying her best to accept it, to let everyone know "Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Or, during September's presidential debate when Donald Trump interrupted Hillary Clinton 22 times in the first 26 minutes.
18. Manspreading
18. Manspreading
Meaning: When men take up excess space by sitting with their legs far apart. This is such an actual thing that in 2014 New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched a campaign to get guys to close their legs to make more room on the subway.
19. Toxic Masculinity
Meaning: A phrase used in social science to characterise stifling, repressive notions about the male gender role that defines masculinity as overtly masculine characteristics like aggression, violence, and lack of feelings. Notions of manhood.
Since toxic masculinity is based on the notion that males must be stereotypically "masculine" (aggressive, competitive, unemotional, and powerful) and reject any generally "feminine" characteristics of their personality, (sensitive, nurturing, compassionate, emotional). it is extremely destructive.
Meaning: A phrase used in social science to characterise stifling, repressive notions about the male gender role that defines masculinity as overtly masculine characteristics like aggression, violence, and lack of feelings. Notions of manhood.
Since toxic masculinity is based on the notion that males must be stereotypically "masculine" (aggressive, competitive, unemotional, and powerful) and reject any generally "feminine" characteristics of their personality, (sensitive, nurturing, compassionate, emotional). it is extremely destructive.
