11 ways you can identify a misogynist in the crowd

The misogynists. You may have heard of them. But what you may not realise is that they can be anywhere around you. They are notoriously hard to spot. They do not come with a label attached, and they may even come across as pro-woman. In most cases, misogynists do not even know that they hate women. Misogyny is typically an unconscious hatred that men form early in life, often as a result of a trauma involving a female figure they trusted. An abusive or negligent mother, sister, teacher or girlfriend can plant a seed deep down in their brain’s subcortical matter.

Once planted, this seed will germinate and begin to grow, the tiny root working its way into the fear processing and memory areas of the brain as its tiny stem works its way into frontal areas of the brain, affecting emotion and rational decision-making.

The first signs of misogyny are barely noticeable, but with additional exposure to neglect, abuse, or lack of treatment, this behavioral seeding will grow larger and more prominent. The following traits are typical of the misogynist:

1. He will zero in on a woman and choose her as his target. Her natural defenses may be down because he’s flirtatious, fun, and charismatic at first.

2. As time goes on, he may change quickly from irresistible to rude, and from rude to irresistible.

3. He will make promises to women and often fail to keep them. With men, on the other hand, he will almost always keep his word.

4. He will be late for appointments and dates with women, but be quite punctual with men.

5. His behaviour toward women in general is grandiose, cocky, controlling, and self-centred.

6. He is extremely competitive, especially with women. If a woman does better than him socially or professionally, he feels terrible. If a man does better, he may have mixed feelings about it but he is able to look at the situation objectively.

7. He will unknowingly treat women differently from men in workplace and social settings.

8. He will be prepared (unconsciously) to use anything within his power to make women feel miserable.

9. On a date, he will treat a woman the opposite of how she prefers. If she is an old-style lady who prefers a “gentleman” who holds the door for her, orders for both and pays for the meal, he will treat her like one of his male buddies.

10. He will cheat on women he is dating or in a relationship with. Monogamy is the last thing he feels he owes a woman.

Misogyny is an unconscious hatred that men form early in life, often as a result of a trauma involving a female figure they trusted

11. He may suddenly disappear from a relationship without ending it, but may come back three months later with an explanation designed to lure the woman back in.

Women haters (unconsciously) get off on treating women badly. Every time they can put down a woman or hurt her feelings, they unconsciously feel good because deep down in their hidden brain, their bad behaviour is rewarded with a dose of the pleasure chemical dopamine — which makes them want to repeat the behaviour again and again.