The following research paper aims to evaluate the psychological effects of internalized misogyny on upper-class women — particularly in Lahore, Pakistan. Based on their estimations, the research is conducted on 28 volunteering female participants between the ages of eighteen and thirty who belong to a position of economic privilege. The research portion features a survey of fifteen questions being passed out to them through snowball sampling without any interactions with the researcher. It is filled out anonymously by the participants. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if internalized misogyny has any psychological effects and health tolls on women, the findings of this research were then assessed, and we concluded that a few psychologically distressing effects were observed within a staggering majority on a sample of presumably heterosexual women.
Keywords: internalized misogyny, Pakistan, upper-class women, snow-ball sampling, psychological distress
Introduction
Internalized misogyny/sexism is a significant barrier many women face due to the intrinsically patriarchal structure of the world. American Psychological Association Task Force (Zurbriggen et al., 2007) explained that intolerance, bigotry, sexism, and gender discrimination considerably impact women’s physical and mental health. These psychological effects include a lack of self-love, low self-esteem, negative body image, self-objectification, and gender socialization. According to Fredrickson and Roberts (1997), self-objectification can often convert into self-surveillance, which further contributes to extreme psychological distress for women. Furthermore, gender roles and discrimination encourage the notion that men are superior, birthing insecurities and an inferiority complex in women.
This paper discusses the adverse psychological impacts of internalized misogyny in Pakistani women, including the increased propensity of anxiety and depression, OCD, body dysmorphia, substance abuse, and eating disorders. A four-year survey was also conducted at a private clinic in Karachi, which helped to reach conclusions for women experiencing mood disorders. The total number was 60%, and most had experienced extreme trauma due to toxic marriage relationships, domestic violence, and marital rape enabled by the patriarchal structure of Pakistani society. Moreover, a comparative study carried out at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center, Karachi, back in the early 1990s stated that women in their 20s and 30s (middle-aged) experience double the psychological distress compared to men of the same age.
Literature Review
One of the first papers which assisted our research was by Miss Mehreen Bano, who wrote for the International Journal of Advanced Research. This study has focused its research on violence against women, specifically in areas in Punjab, Pakistan. It focuses on data collected through surveys passed through a community of 2880 women, gathering information on domestic violence, its severity, and the attitudes women hold toward acts of domestic violence.
To help achieve the core issues, the research was also done through the lens of political, cultural, and, most importantly, socio-economic systems. As the study succinctly puts it, “In Pakistan, violence against women has become a ubiquitous phenomenon” (Manzoor, 2013) and a notable factor of this study is its acknowledgment of the fact that violence against women has multiple factors, divided into intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and can exist in many forms. The latter part thus not only addresses the problem of physical violence and the real crisis of psychological/emotional violence. This pandemic of violence against women very clearly points towards the deep-seated roots of a patriarchal society, and such a system can only continue to run if not just the men but the other half of the population, the women, also turn a blind eye, and thus essentially, aid in the continuation of this prejudiced system. Thus, this source aids us in testifying that the women of our society also play a vital role in continuing the cycle of misogyny by playing according to the rules of the patriarchal society. This is helped by the mention of forced marriages in society, which take place not just through the involvement of the men in the household, but the mothers who hand off their daughters and mothers-in-law who allow these unions to occur.
Another study that proved to be of great worth was by Shelby R Johnson for the University of Oklahoma. The sampling was done via the snowball method, and a thorough hierarchical moderated regression model was carried out, which showed a positive correlation between all factors. Johnson researched how internalized societal standards for the “perfect” feminine physique led to the instigation of disorderly eating among women. He explains how women with internalized misogynistic tendencies show signs of distrust towards other women and often regard men as the more respectable gender. This results in them being skeptical towards feminine traits, or as penned by Johnson, they “reject one’s “female-ness” to win patriarchal favor” (Johnson, 2014). The most dominant feminine characteristic is, of course, the female body. The author builds the link between internalized misogyny and negative body image, self-respect, and depression, which strongly correlate with uncontrolled eating. His emphasis on the relationship between these factors helped us build upon the relationship between internalized misogyny and psychological distress correlated with uncontrolled eating.
Moreover, Johnson uses a predominant term, “perfectionism,” to discuss body dysmorphia. Perfectionism encourages thin ideal culture, where women aspire to be more thin-looking and muscular. Females following these cultural values develop a “neurotic obsession with flaws and past failures, and a desire for infallibility manifested in an intolerance for mistakes” (Johnson, 2014). This particular area of Johnson’s research can be affiliated with our research because perfectionism can lead to suicidal rates and uncontrolled eating. This study goes on to show how internalized misogyny can be the root of unrealistic standards, which leads to depression and can take a clinical toll on one’s mental health.
Another research that caught our attention was carried forward by Syeda Farzana Rahmani of the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. The qualitative data is collected by interviewing ten women regarding their experiences with sexism, with their direct quotations acting as a pillar for the themes presented in the study. Though Rahmani has covered a wide variety of themes in her study, our main concern is objectification and health impacts. The concept of keeping up appearances is displayed, where one participant claimed, “Being told my whole adolescence and young adulthood to ‘smile.’” This act only promises to build up on the shell of repressed emotions of a woman, that too, from adolescence. Ever since childhood, they are taught to be visually pleasing to others, encouraging objectification and sexual harassment. Multiple participants opened up about similar experiences, and their reactions contributed to the internalization of misogyny. A mere act of kindness can not compensate for this repellent system, but the participants seem to think otherwise. One of the core themes in our research paper is body dysmorphia, highlighted diligently by Rahmani, and the variety of first-hand experiences has proven to be of assistance.
Furthermore, Rahmani presents the impacts on the health of internalized misogyny. A list of domestic, social, and workplace harassment is reported, and none of them are inclined toward a positive reaction from the participants. Psychological factors come into play, where women face hypervigilance, fear, and powerlessness. These factors, supported by the interviews done by Rahmani, reaffirm our claim that internalized misogyny psychologically impacts women. The acts of terrorization from men incubate lifelong trauma in women, who face anxiety and depression, and psychological arousal, which includes panic attacks, anger, escalated heartbeat, and fear. In our research, one interviewee claimed, “In the past, I internalized it, and it affected my confidence and kept me from reaching my full potential.” (Rahmani, 2020)
Research Questions:
1) What are the psychological distresses caused by internalizing misogyny?
2) Are multiple distresses caused within women, and are they common?
3) Have other researchers conducted enough research to support their results?
Methodology Review
Participant Selection
Participants for the questionnaire were selected using snowball sampling; we approached one individual and asked them to further pass on the survey to girls-only WhatsApp groups. Our sample includes around 28 women ranging from ages 18–30 years. The limit placed on their ages will ensure that the individuals can answer questions about their experiences from the viewpoint of a young adult. An additional mini survey had been attached before the questionnaire that was passed onto these potential participants to ensure that they fit into our criteria of the participants belonging to a financially privileged background and were only females between the ages of eighteen to thirty years old. The survey was passed onto 40 females, out of whom we received 28 fully filled-out surveys that were incorporated into our research. The mean age of our sample participants was approximately 23 years old.
Research Tools
The methods oft used by other researchers for their respective papers and articles were only somewhat applicable to our country: owing to differing backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and practices. Some of the questions used within their surveys would have yielded inaccurate results due to not adhering in the same manner as they would have elsewhere. This is precisely why a combination of two “scales” was used to design a few questions for the custom survey created for our participants. The survey featured 15 questions to evaluate the degree of internalized misogyny within everyone, which was later aggregated into a combined result to be depicted both textually and graphically in a chart.
The scales used to design our survey:
Internalized Misogyny Scale
This measure consists of 17 items rated on a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), with higher scores indicating higher levels of internalized misogyny. (Piggott, 2004).
Attitudes Toward Women Scale
This measure consists of 12 items assessing endorsement of traditional gender roles, rated on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree). Higher scores indicate more vital adherence to traditional gender roles. (Spence & Hahn, 1997; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973).
Before attempting the survey, we provided a brief description of the fact that this survey was being sent to them to collect data on the psychological effects of internalized misogyny that would, later on, be featured in our research, as to avoid claims that participants were unsure of what they were partaking in, or that they completed the survey without any intention of answering truthfully as they were not informed of the topic beforehand. The participants’ names and personal information were not collected and kept anonymous, mainly because they may feel more comfortable knowing they can answer the questions anonymously and not share their personal views and opinions. While creating the survey, our best efforts went towards avoiding discriminatory language that could mislead the participants into answering in a manner that would deviate from their personal opinions. The questions contained all forms of close-ended short answering methods, such as multiple-choice answers and ranges — wherein the participants could state their answer on a scale of how much they either agree or disagree with the answer, as well as the option of remaining neutral and not providing a clear answer. Since the survey was passed out to a participant, there was no room for researcher bias. Unlike interviews and other forms of questioning wherein the researcher and participant would interact, our form of passing out the surveys digitally had no direct or indirect interaction with the participant, thus, eliminating any researcher bias that could have crept into the study and distorted results.
Analysis of Data and Discussion
This study was based in Lahore, Pakistan. The questionnaire results offer the experiences of 28 women from 18 to 30 years old who participated in the study in addition to two in-depth interviews conducted online. The participants’ education levels ranged from high school to the graduate level, and their socio-economic status was upper middle class to upper class. The results showed a positive relation between internalized misogyny and its psychological effects on women; various factors caused these psychological effects, including gender discrimination starting from a very young age, confinement to gender roles, beauty standards set for women, and numerous others. These gendered limitations set onto women by society and the pressure to conform to beauty standards lead to adverse psychological effects and disorders like body dysmorphia, eating disorders, OCD, depression, and anxiety.
It was found that 67.9% of the women from our sample criticized themselves for not being able to conform to the beauty standards set by society. More than 65% felt psychological distress due to the inability to do so. The most common psychological effects found in these women were depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia. It was founded that women start to become aware of their body and skin as soon as they hit puberty as their body starts to experience changes due to their hormones. During an interview with an undergraduate student at Warwick University, it was reported that: “I think most women start to experience psychological distress from a very young age, but they can express it better once they reach puberty and start to experience acne and hormonal changes, which may cause them to notice body weight fluctuations. At this time in high school, they may also compare their bodies with their friends or celebrities/ influencers on social media. As children have access to such media at an even younger age now, this may be even experienced before high school.” This hyper-awareness of their body and looks takes a psychological toll on women where they feel the need to not only conform to the beauty standards set by society — which affects women more than men due to the patriarchal dynamics within the society but attach their worth to it and start to perceive themselves through the male gaze. It is understood that this hyperawareness answers to the increased statistics of food disorders among women and feelings of body dysmorphia, as well as other mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. We found that 82.1% of these women feel they are being judged solely on their appearance, and this is reported to start from the age of puberty; the most common of the comments made on their appearance were acne issues and being told that they are “too skinny” or “fat.”
The results (mentioned in Appendix B) are the most common psychological effects of internalized misogyny realized by these women. These women reported that these psychological effects not only affect their health but also affect their personal lives and their ability to form platonic and romantic relationships; they feel inferior to men and become conscious of the tasks they are doing, doubting their capabilities and limiting themselves due to the gendered limitations and holding themselves back from exploring their abilities to its fullest. Some of these women also felt confused most of their lives due to the complications within the society’s structure and paradigm, which is an amalgamation of religion and culture. Zareen Tahir explained, “Sexism has impacted my mental health. It eventually led me to be clouded with feelings of judgment for myself, doubting my capabilities and always assuming that a guy might be able to do this for me or better than me. It has had a complicated impact on me because of its mix of religion and culture. Identifying what seems not okay despite what you have been taught from an earlier age is a struggle.”
According to these women, it is recorded that this continuous internalization of misogyny occurs due to the patriarchal structures of society, media, and generational trauma passed on by grandmothers to mothers and then follows onto the daughters in repetitive cycles. However, it is now realized how internalized misogyny adversely impacts women and men. Another critical point noted during our research was that women felt they needed to work harder than men in their academic and professional lives to attain the same degree of appreciation and praise as their male colleagues. Women felt that men preferred to be appointed for essential tasks, which gave women a general disadvantage in their professional life. Moreover, we recorded that 92.9% of women feel that the pressure to conform to these beauty standards is more significant in women than in men, which proves that men set these high standards and expectations for women for men. Pakistani society is designed to enable them. Until there is a structural change in the patriarchal dynamics of Pakistani society and people realize the importance of gender equality and unlearning gender-defined roles, Pakistani society will continue to witness its adverse effects, and women will continue to suffer mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Conclusion
Internalized misogyny dramatically impacts women’s health and personal and academic lives. These women feel limited in their experiences due to gendered discrimination and suffer mentally from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and, most commonly, body dysmorphia. Women felt that because of the intricate patriarchal structures of Pakistani society and hammered internalized misogyny in the people, women were forced to succumb to beauty standards and be confined to other gender roles. This adds pressure to women’s lives from a very young age as soon as they realize puberty and impacts all the spheres of their life adversely. Women are made hyperaware of their bodies and skin; hence they start feeling disconnected from their bodies when they feel unable to fit into the high expectations and beauty standards of Pakistani society. Moreover, it was found that women feel conflicted about voicing these concerns as they cannot distinguish between the lines of religion and culture. As internalized misogyny is what they are primarily socialized into, they find it difficult to unlearn and feel more confident.
References:
Johnson, S. (2014). Perfectionism, the Thin Ideal, and Disordered Eating: Does Internalized Misogyny Play a Role?.
Manzoor, Rabia. (2013). Violence against women in Pakistan: Evidence from Punjab. International Journal of Advance Research. 1. 356–365.Rahmani, Syeda, “WOMEN’S EXPEREINCES OF INTERNALIZED SEXISM” (2020). Dissertations. 451.
Spence, J. T., & Hahn, E. D. (1997). The Attitudes Toward Women Scale and Attitude Change in College Students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(1), 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00098.x
Women’s experiences of internalized sexism — National Louis University. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1485&context=diss
Spence, J. T., Helmreich, R., & Stapp, J. (1975). Ratings of self and peers on sex role attributes and their relation to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076857
