Femme Resistance Book Club discussion

1. “One woman’s misogyny is another man’s poetic justice” I think to me this really encapsulated the division of thought due to the men(or even women) that will always side with the patriarchal structure we live in. what are your thoughts?

2. “They don’t go backwards” relating to the escalation of intimate partner violence. How did you think mysogyny was used for men to justify violence towards women?

3. Himpathy- Men not showing sympathy for the women victim, but instead towards the male victimizers. Have you noticed this before as a woman? Discuss?

4. At one point the author mentions raising her voice and speaking loud about women’s issues in hopes that other women will feel empowered to speak louder themselves. Has another woman in your life ever made you feel empowered to speak up? Discuss

5. People may be misogynistic because of their environment(overachiever in a misogynist work environment) This is an example of how even women can perpetuate misogynistic ideals. How can we work to ensure that we are not perpetuating a misogynistic narrative?

6. “Sexism wears a lab coat and misogyny goes on witch hunts” the interpretation I got from differences in sexism vs mysogyny was that sexism speaks to the inequality of a white man being offered a job over a more qualified woman of color and mysogyny is the woman actually getting picked for the job and the man feels justified in killing her in the parking lot because of it. What is your take when it comes to mysogyny versus sexism?

7. During the discussion on annihilators, the author stated how Chris Foster killing his wife and daughters when he was going bankrupt was possibly due to not wanting the wife and children to feel shame from his shortcomings. I thought it was interesting that he burned anything that was going to be repossessed that day. To me it seemed like he viewed the wife and children’s as “items” that needed to be disposed of and not seen as human beings. Did you have any opinions towards the motives of the annihilators that were discussed?

8. The author discusses how rape and killing of other men women and children can end up justified within society and that one of those ways is by making people of certain race/ethnicities to be considered “dehumanized animals.” Have you observed this in daily life? How can we push back against this volatile narrative?

9. The author spoke on our disposition, within a patriarchal society, to sympathize with men’s pain over womens until a men can be cast into the role of hero or savior. Discuss

10. It was mentioned that someone speaking out on victimhood can be seen as a form of protest. This is seen as an act of protest because the victimizers want the victim to be passive and silent. How can we empower people to share their story and allow their voice to be heard when speaking out against wrongdoings they’ve experienced?

11. Giving she/ Human giver- women being put in a place to give give give without receiving because that is their role as a giver. Have you experienced this and do you feel like misogyny played a role in it?