Misogyny, Women, and Obstacles to Tertiary Education: A Vile Situation

Abstract

For decades, researchers, theoreticians, and practitioners have attempted unsuccessfully to ensure women's full and active participation in all areas of tertiary education. This article uses empirical data to demonstrate that misogyny (a hatred of women) creates a useful, sharper theorization from which to explicate obstacles to women's participation in tertiary education. Using misogyny to interpret traditional deterrence themes such as lack of energy, family commitments, and child care responsibilities produces new meanings for these barriers. Such theorization encompasses many of the complex experiences of women and explains what we intuitively understand about their implications. This article suggests that a theorization based in misogyny has the ability to explain obstacles to women's participation in tertiary education, to offer new solutions, and to challenge us to move away from "nice " concepts that have failed to deliver safe and productive pathways for women who wish to participate in tertiary education.