{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.028701716738197425, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.407216494845361, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Epilogue: The Misogyny of Everyday Life

In the prologue, I noted, “women, especially heterosexual white women, seem to enjoy ostensible and broad privileges and protections. As such, the consequences of misogyny and the resultant suffering might appear, well, inconsequential.” In the epilogue, let’s take a closer look at that statement. To the degree that women, as a group, reap benefits, at least superficially, that other marginalized groups do not, means that the impact and effects, the costs and the residual complications of hatred operate, more or less, in the shadows. They can therefore be dismissed and minimized. In addition and as a result, the implication is widely accepted and the accusation is regularly explicit that repercussions – the effects of misogyny – are actually deserved, arising from a woman’s own actions and choices. Individuals – largely men – and society, in its institutions, laws and regulations, frequently explain away the problems and the marked impact of misogyny by blaming the victim. In this approach, the source and the consequences of misogyny reside within and with the individual rather than in the collective and the system. Furthermore, it is a fact that many privileges and protections afforded to women as a group are only “ostensible” and “superficial” – and afforded most reliably to “heterosexual white women.” Conspicuously, today’s conversation about the misogyny of everyday life – the discussion presented in this particular issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry – has been shaped by the voices of six white women and one white man. Nevertheless, the critical conversation demands a more heterogenous assembly, an ongoing discussion and interrogation generated by a cross-current chorus of diverse voices. A robust exchange about misogyny requires the amplification of the voices of women whose identities are formed by intersectionality: women of color, immigrant women, trans women, queer women, lesbian women, women living with disabilities, indigenous women, and others. For this conversation to be true, comprehensive and finally useful, it must include various and varied voices and engage the interconnection of such characteristics as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic class, disability, and the like. All these overlapping aspects of identity bring with them their own experiences of hatred, discrimination and oppression. As dynamically manifest in the personal, psychic, relational, social and political realms, misogyny affects persons of diverse and variable identities in various insidious, grievous and singular ways. Never clearer than today, a responsible and responsive examination of misogyny, therefore, demands an intersectional lens. Such a lens inevitably scans widely, taking into account historical contexts that surround hatred and hold it in place. Lingering histories of systematic discrimination and gender-based violence have carved deep inequities that continue to disadvantage, from the outset, some more than others. Extending over generations, resultant injustices intersect to further deprive women of rights and equal opportunities. Recognizing the concurrent forms and crosscurrents of oppression allows a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the depths and complexities of misogyny – in the individual and in society. As we attempt to examine and address misogyny and gender inequality, we see it – if we dare look – all around us: in domestic and sexual violence; lower pay; lack of access to education, childcare and adequate healthcare; responsive parenting support. It is on display in the violence and lack of protective sanctions and punitive legislation inflicted on trans, queer and gay women and