Those Who Say the U.S. Isn’t Misogynistic Are Either Delusional or Deceitful

I’ve had it. Up to here.

I’ve had it with Americans pretending this is ‘the land of the free’ and insisting that women have full equality here — when nothing could be further from the truth. Hell, we’ve never even ratified the no-brainer, essential ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment for women. WTF?!

We’re not the absolute worst misogynist nation — that dubious distinction probably belongs to the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan — but we’re very far from being a true, equalitarian democracy. Here in the U.S., misogyny, patriarchy, and Christian male power rule, on every level: economic, social, and political.

And I’m sick to death of hearing all the lies, distortions, and loud protestations about it. Our pathetic long-term record speaks for itself — but now, even that is being subverted and hidden as right-wing ‘patriots’ work to cover up and redefine our dark, sad history of racism and misogyny.

My purpose in this essay is to set the record straight and point out just a few of our many transgressions against women (especially minority women).

But overall, I have to say: our widespread misogyny is largely color-blind, which effectively makes us ‘equal opportunity misogynists.’ Minority women have it worse, though, because they are also oppressed by added layers of racism and ethnic hatred.

Yes, in the United States of America, one of the primary social features that ‘unites’ us — even among many women, amazingly — is our intense and seemingly eternal misogyny.

Our misogyny is painfully obvious

Here’s a quote from my politically-centrist partner and wife, who is far from being a ‘wild-eyed’ radical or leftist:

“I’m totally heart-broken and furious about rampant misogyny in the U.S. It’s utterly absurd and shameful that this supposed ‘land of the free’ can’t manage to pass something as basic as the ERA. Actually, it’s absurd and shameful that we’d even need an amendment like the ERA. That fact alone shows how horribly misogynistic we are.

And don’t get me started on the fact that we’ve never had a woman president — and are apparently incapable of electing one. Even far less ‘developed’ or ‘third-world’ nations like Pakistan and India have had female leaders, and Mexico just elected a female Jewish scientist as president!

But here in the U.S., Hillary Clinton never had a chance (due to our damn electoral college system that favors ‘conservative’ red states), and neither did Kamala Harris. Plus, Harris had to contend with disguised racism as well, so she had two major ‘black marks’ against her: she was both female and mixed-race/Black. No way in hell she could ever be elected president.

In this country, she never stood a chance.”

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This essay will focus on four recurring misogyny-soaked issues:

1) Our ongoing refusal to ratify the ERA

2) The intense GOP push to criminalize abortion and demonize family planning

3) The huge disparities between men and women in both pay and politics

4) Americans’ persistent refusal to elect a woman president — even when the female candidate is far more qualified, ethical, and effective.

Our ongoing refusal to ratify the ERA

This travesty has been going on since 1923, believe it or not — over a hundred years! That’s when the ERA was first proposed, though it never received much consideration until the 70s. In 1972 the U.S. Congress (miraculously) passed the ERA — but then, like any proposed Amendment to the Constitution, it had to be ratified by 3/4 of the states, or a minimum of 38 states.

We never got there — at least, not within the unnecessary 7-year time limit tacked onto the legislation.

That time limit has provided endless legal fodder for ERA opponents, to the point that today, even though 38 states have now signed on, we still can’t fully ratify the ERA due to ongoing legal wrangling and intense right-wing opposition. That’s just… crazy.

Can you imagine what would happen if the situation was reversed, and women were in power and refused to allow equal rights and power for men? The uproar would be loud and continuous, men would openly revolt, widespread violence would ensue… and the ERA for men would have been passed and fully ratified many decades ago.

But somehow, when it’s women being oppressed and held back, that’s considered OK and sometimes even desirable. The harsh truth is that women in the U.S. are second-class citizens, and there’s a huge contingent of men and happily-suppressed women who want to keep it that way.

This situation is intolerable and deeply cruel, and in a more perfect world would prevent the U.S. from ever again calling itself, with much puffery and pride, ‘the land of the free.’ We simply do NOT deserve that title. No way, no how.

** See the note at the end of this article for an update.

The huge GOP push to criminalize abortion and demonize family planning

The GOP has been itching to restrict women, their choices, and their healthcare options for decades, but that push only came to full fruition during Trump’s first term and the first few years of this decade. Trump himself is clearly a misogynist, as has been amply shown by his words, actions, and several court cases involving sexual abuse and defamation that he lost, big time. Scarily, his misogyny, racism, and nasty bullying tactics seem to be quite attractive to a large segment of our voting public.

One of Trump’s core voting blocs is evangelical Christians, and one of their core concerns and loudly-voiced issues is abortion. So Trump, being beholden to his loyal Christian voters, traded away women’s right to an abortion by installing three new conservative justices on our Supreme Court — knowing full well that they would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and strip away women’s right to an abortion.

The Supreme Court cleverly didn’t directly reject women’s ability to get an abortion; it merely took away the inherent right to obtain an abortion — and then threw the issue back to the states. Of course, the red states all took this as total license to restrict or even abolish abortion rights — which it was — and quickly enacted many oppressive, harsh, and punitive laws targeting women, their doctors, abortion providers, and anyone else who ‘aids or abets’ a woman getting an abortion. Now, they’re even trying to outlaw medication abortions.

This behavior and these laws are grossly unfair and misogynistic, and have no place in a true ‘democracy.’ Many Christians are heavily misogynistic and patriarchal — since the Bible, in their interpretation, tells them this is the proper way to be — and many in the GOP also lean toward patriarchal and openly misogynist ‘ideals.’ Thus, the U.S. is unique among modern ‘democracies’ in its fervent refusal to grant women full and equal rights and protections under the law.

Next on the GOP/Christian ‘chopping block’ are contraceptive rights and freedoms — since choosing to consciously avoid conception supposedly goes against ‘God’s will.’

Not only that, but now there is a furious backlash against feminism, women’s rights, and the ‘Me Too’ movement. The backlash has gotten so intense that a rallying cry among aggrieved, angry men has spread like wildfire: “Your body, my choice!” WTF?! Shudder.

In the U.S., misogyny is fully baked into our thinking, our values, and our actions. As a Richie Havens song about racism put it — and it applies equally well to misogyny — “It’s a long, hard road… until we’ll be free.”

The huge disparities between men and women in both pay and politics

Here I’m just going to cite a few statistics:

Pay: women earn 16% less than men on average. while women of color usually — and unconscionably — earn 36–45 % less.

Number of CEOs: women only make up 9% of the CEOs in corporate America — and few women are elevated to other top positions.

Number of women in Congress: 150 out of a possible 535 — down two from last session.

…

According to this CNN.com article, “women in executive office are setting a record — with 13 female governors set to serve in 2025 after the election of Republican Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire.”

Imagine: that’s actually a record in this country; 13 governors out of fifty is a record high for women. That’s pathetic!

The article continues: “Further down the ticket, 2,467 women across the country will serve in state legislatures — more than ever before, according to CAWP. That’s still just about a third of legislators — more than the roughly quarter of Congress that is female — but similarly far short of the 53% of the 2024 electorate that was female.”

Here, again, the percentage of women in state politics is only about 33%, which is still better than the dismal 28% serving in the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, women make up 53% of the electorate.

That’s just… shameful.

Americans’ persistent refusal to elect a woman president — even when the female candidate is far more qualified, ethical, and effective.

When we study the lead-up to, and results of, both the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections, we see America’s misogyny and brutal ‘double standard’ for men and women on full display. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton — and much of the rabid hatred she aroused is also a sign of our deep misogyny — she was by far the better candidate and by far the most ethical, professional, and logical choice.

She was up against a lying, cheating, bullying con man, Donald Trump, and even won the popular vote — but then lost the election anyway, due to the slanted outcomes built into the Electoral College that favor less populous and more misogynistic red states.

Clinton was viciously attacked in right-wing media and by Trump himself, and very few journalists or pundits objected or even blinked. Even the FBI got into the act when then-director James Comey made his stupendously idiotic decision to again open up the investigation into her bogus ‘email issues’ just a week before the election. (Many Dems believe Comey’s bizarre maneuver cost her the election).

Throughout, no one seriously vetted or investigated Trump and all his wild claims, yet Clinton was subjected to constant media harassment and merciless dissection of her every statement or policy idea.

…

Fast forward to 2024, and we were treated to the spectacle of Kamala Harris receiving very similar treatment. Again, Trump got away with metaphorical murder and evaded intense media scrutiny, while Harris’ every statement and policy proposal was torn apart and scrutinized to death. Then, after she lost the election, Democrats were wringing their hands and trying desperately to figure out where and how her campaign went so wrong.

Well, I’ve got news for them: there was nothing wrong with her campaign. Her credentials, platform, and policy ideas were just fine; she exuded grounded confidence; and she possessed much experience as a prosecutor and as Vice-President. Plus, she had the added benefit of being an honest, scrupulous, and compassionate person, unlike her opponent, Donald Trump.

Yet, she lost anyway. Honesty, professionalism, and compassion lost to male bravado, endless lies, gross incompetence, and loud ‘macho’ demagoguery. Many Trump voters insist they were just worried about the economy, inflation, and the price of eggs — but I have to say: I don’t believe them.

Even though these were all valid issues, these concerns alone can’t account for such an absurd and dangerous choice. It just doesn’t add up — not at all.

No, the only thing that makes sense — in an ugly, super-creepy way — is that most Americans couldn’t handle the idea of a mixed-race, half-Black woman leading our nation. And concerns about (fading) inflation and the price of eggs do NOT excuse or make up for our blatant racism, misogyny, and short-sightedness.

My conclusions

Our vaunted ‘land of the free’ is brimming with misogyny, racism, classism, and other odious ‘isms.’ Most Americans are simply full of it when they proclaim how ‘free’ we all are and how ‘wonderful’ life in the U.S. is.

If or when life here is ‘wonderful’ — which is getting rarer and rarer — it’s usually for White males in power, like Trump and his billionaire oligarch and ‘tech bro’ buddies.

For everyone else, especially women, life in the U.S. is neither fair nor wonderful — and if rabidly misogynist Republicans get their way, it will soon be even less fair and more oppressive for women.

In the U.S., women are absolutely seen as ‘second-class citizens,’ and are treated more like slaves or property than full, feeling, and equal human beings.

And unless and until all that changes — on every level of society — the United States will remain a horribly hypocritical and misogynistic nation.

…

End note: One day after this article was published, CNN.com reported that President Biden has affirmed the ratification of the ERA, which means it IS — for now — our 28th Amendment.

However… the same CNN article states “It will, however, certainly draw swift legal challenges — and its next steps remain extremely unclear as Biden prepares to leave office…. Ratification deadlines lapsed and five states have rescinded their approval, according to the Brennan Center for Justice….”

Get that? Five states have rescinded their approval! WTF?! So once again, the ERA is in legal and political limbo.

Nice try, Pres. Biden; let’s hope your decision sticks and isn’t undone by the misogynistic GOP.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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