In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Cornell philosopher Kate Manne discusses the notions of misogyny, male entitlement, and the term that she coined 'himpathy' with Nigel Warburton.
This is philosophy bites with me, Nigel.
Warburton, and me, David Edmonds.
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Not many people invent a word or phrase that's entered common usage.
Kate Mann however, a philosopher at Cornell University can claim to have done so.
The term a tendency to sympathize with male perpetrators over their female victims appears in Down Girl, a book that analyses the notion and practice of misogyny.
A new book focuses on another aspect of male female relations, male entitlement.
Kate Mann, welcome to philosophy bites.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
Now, the topic we're going to talk about today is misogyny and male entitlement.
Let's begin with misogyny that's often thought of as an individual person who's got some kind of resentment, possibly against a particular woman.
Is that how you understand misogyny?
No, I tend to understand misogyny as a much more structural and systemic phenomenon.
The hostility or hatred women face within a social environment that plays the particular role or function it serves to police and enforce patriarchal norms and expectations by visiting women with that hostility or hatred.
Could you give an example of that, just to be clear how that's different from individual people with personal problems?
Yeah, absolutely.
So one of the important features of the view is that misogyny can be instantiated by social practices and institutions.