2026/04/07 by Kate Manne · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies #Gender, Security, and Conflict #Gender, Feminism, and Media
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/apa.2026.10027
ABSTRACT In this article, I argue that interpersonal cruelty can often be explained in ordinary moral terms in conjunction with facts about social hierarchies. Specifically, I argue that misogynistic cruelty often stems from the sense that certain women are wrongdoers; it often stems from the sense that certain, privileged men are entitled to violate women; and it often stems from the sense that, at least when they threaten such men, women simply do not matter. Misogynistic cruelty is thus more a product of moral vilification, entitlement, and devaluation than dehumanization proper. I explore the implications for the need to posit dehumanization as a mechanism to explain cruelty elsewhere.