Searches for 'Misogyny' Spiked After Trump's Victory
Misogyny was among the top lookups on November 9, 2016, the morning after Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The word spiked still higher on November 10, as the word appeared repeatedly in news articles and on social media.
The word was used in headlines for editorials:
Misogyny now has the White House seal of approval
—The Boston GlobeThe misogyny apocalypse
—SalonWhy misogyny was The Donald’s trump card
—The TelegraphPanel: What does the US election result say about misogyny?
—The Guardian
The easy thing is to keep your head down & let the bullies run amok. The right thing to do is to challenge racism, misogyny and hatred. https://t.co/VF6NePPySm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 9, 2016
Obama never ran against an avowed white nationalist. And don't discount misogyny, either. https://t.co/sZkdjQDgn3
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) November 9, 2016
2) Acting with love and kindness is to NOT keep an open mind about hatred, NOT normalize racism, bigotry and misogyny. I can’t equivocate.
— . (@rosannecash) November 10, 2016
Misogyny means “a hatred of women.” The etymology of misogyny is a fairly straightforward one, as it may be traced to the Greek words for “to hate” (misein) and “woman” (gynē); Greek had already combined these into the word misogynia before the word was adopted by English. Misogyny has been in use in our language since at least 1656, when the great 17th-century lexicographer Thomas Blount defined it as “the hate or contempt of women.”
There is a similar, although considerably more obscure, word in English for “a hatred of men”; that word is misandry.
Trend Watch tracks popular lookups to see what people are talking about. You can always see all Trend Watch articles here.
