Between Silence and Structure: Understanding Misogyny, Its Tolls, and Paths of Resistance

Misogyny is something that has existed across human societies for millenia. It appears in different forms depending on culture and time period, from overt restrictions on women’s rights in legal systems to more subtle expressions embedded in everyday language, media, and social expectations. Unlike before, through the proliferation of the internet, it now heavily appears in our digital communities and creates new sociocultural phenomena that further entrench misogyny, such as “redpill” communities, derogatory online slang that hides behind humor, malicious use of AI, and more. Since many of these phenomena are not immediately visible, misogyny remains present and shapes what is said, what is ignored, and what is treated as “normal.” As such, misogyny is both obvious in its outcomes and easy to deny in its ordinary expressions.

The Psychological, Physiological, and Social Effects of Misogyny

Psychologically, misogyny influences how individuals interpret and respond to gendered expectations through learned social conditioning. From an early age, people are exposed to messages—both explicit and implicit—about what women are “supposed” to be like. On one hand, there are expectations of warmth, agreeableness, and emotional labor; on the other, there is often resistance or discomfort when women display authority, assertiveness, or ambition. This double bind creates a pattern where the same behavior can be praised in one context and penalized in another.

Within our Western patriarchal society, these messages are deeply internalized, especially within women, and men as well. Over time, individuals may begin to monitor themselves in anticipation of judgment, adjusting tone, appearance, or behavior to reduce the likelihood of criticism. For example, this has led to the online “looksmaxxing” trend that primarily targets men by promoting extreme beauty standards and funnels individuals into the misogynistic “manosphere” community. The trend itself has misogynistic roots in “incel” (involuntarily celibate) forums. Misogyny instates adaptation and constraint where people must adapt to survive socially, yet are constrained within the standards and attitudes that it cultivates.

On a physiological level, repeated exposure to bias or invalidation can activate stress-response systems. Experiences such as harassment, exclusion, or being dismissed in professional or academic settings may increase sustained cognitive load and emotional strain. Stereotype threat is one example of this dynamic in action: the awareness of a stereotype can simultaneously be external (“this is how I might be perceived”) and internal (“what if I confirm it?”), creating a pressure that can interfere with performance and confidence.

Socially, misogyny operates through isolated actions and systems. In our day-to-day lives, it emerges through normal conversations, advertisements, what we read online, jokes we overhear, catcalling on the street, etc. Systemically, it shapes hiring practices, leadership pipelines, and whose ideas are treated as credible. Often at times, it becomes difficult to pinpoint in a single moment since it is experienced as real and consistent, yet frequently denied as structural. Media narratives reinforce this by narrowing how women are portrayed, often oscillating between idealization and dismissal, rather than allowing full complexity.

The Tolls of Misogyny

While singular moments can greatly impact us, misogyny also has a significant cumulative effect over time. For many, this shows up as chronic emotional fatigue—the ongoing effort of navigating spaces where bias may be subtle but persistent. For women, we struggle with the need to stay alert and self-protective, while also being expected to appear effortless, confident, and unbothered.

In the long-term, this can contribute to reduced self-efficacy, anxiety, and a narrowing of perceived possibilities. Even when overt discrimination is not present, the anticipation of it can shape behavior. We find ourselves gazing through the misogynistic lens and can subconsciously act in accordance to it (e.g., appearance and speech).  

At a broader level, misogyny also limits collective progress. When certain voices are consistently undervalued, systems lose access to diverse perspectives.

Tackling and Actively Resisting Misogyny

Addressing misogyny requires both structural change and interpersonal resistance. On a systemic level, this includes equitable hiring and promotion practices, transparent accountability mechanisms, and representation in decision-making spaces. Importantly, there is often a gap between policy and practice. Change requires not only rules, but reinforcement.

On an interpersonal level, resistance often begins with interruption. This might look like naming bias when it appears, redirecting credit to its source, or questioning patterns that are treated as “just how things are.” In one-on-one conversations, it is so important to call out our friends, family, peers, or anyone when it arises (if it is safe to do so) to denormalize it. These small actions matter because they disrupt repetition, and repetition is one of the mechanisms through which inequality stabilizes itself.

Resistance does not always have to be loud to be meaningful. Even quiet forms of acknowledgment such as believing accounts of sexism (e.g., in the workplace), validating experiences, or refusing to dismiss discomfort as exaggeration can shift the social environment in subtle but important ways. 

Misogyny is not only a set of beliefs but a system that persists through normalization and contradiction. It can be both visible and denied, structural and interpersonal, obvious in outcome yet diffuse in cause. Its effects accumulate over time, shaping both individual experience and collective systems. And yet, precisely because it is constructed and reinforced, it can be stopped. Through sustained awareness, structural accountability, and everyday acts of resistance—both direct and nuanced—it is possible to weaken the patterns that keep it in place.