It’s not exactly news to anyone that the notion of femininity has been used both as an ideal and as a pejorative for generations. As an ideal, it’s forced on people born in female bodies from the time they enter the world, insisting on beauty, frailty, silence, and obedience in return for acceptance and protection. It’s also used as a pejorative – usually to men – with a guarantee of both verbal and physical abuse as a result. It’s also sometimes used by those who want to wipe the entire notion of femininity from existence to insult women who are naturally inclined to embody even some parts of the so-called feminine ideal.
I first heard the term “degenerate feminine” in an episode of the HBO / Max Perry Mason re-boot, where it was used it to describe Della Street in all her independent, sexually liberated glory. My husband and I giggled because it sounded so old-fashioned – like something a 1930s, snake-waving, southern evangelical prayer warrior would scream out to his crowd of tongue-talking worshipers. I decided to google it, to see if the term had been used historically or if it was just something made up by the script writers. I found that not only has it been in use for quite some time, it’s still being used today by the right-wing incel types.
Historically, it’s been used to describe witchcraft, prostitution, perversion, insanity, independence, feminism, and LGBTQIA+ people, as well as normal, non-abusive men. Although the phrase “degenerate feminine” itself only seems to be used today by the youngest and dumbest of the incels, it’s only because the smarter and better-known ones know how to phrase it in a way that’s more palatable to the masses. They know that even most of the women who support their political beliefs would have a problem with a term like that. Instead, they use terms like “tradwives” or “DEI” (the latter being a more-common substitute for racially offensive terms) to try and hide their dog-whistles. They’re waiting for their presidential candidate to come out and say it directly, giving them permission to drop the pretension and be more open with verbal assaults.
This is the key – more important than any use of the actual phrase is the idea behind it and its use in political thought and governmental rule.
Rim Naguib’s article, “The Leader as Groom, the Nation as Bride: Patriarchal Nationalism under Nasser and Sisi,” is an excellent look at how Egypt’s El-Sisi (an authoritarian hero of Trump) projects the feminine ideal on the country, while deeming the population who rejects him as degenerate feminine. She writes:
“…in a speech…he blamed the uprising of January 25, proclaiming that, “in 2011 […] because the country revealed her back and stripped her shoulders, anything could now be done to her” (eXtra news, 0:51-1:13), portraying the revolutionary movement for democracy and social justice as an invitation by a promiscuous woman to be penetrated by outsiders.”
In the United States, we’ve noticed the dehumanizing language used by Trump in his latest bid for the presidency – vermin, animals, etc. It shouldn’t be lost on us that he also promotes the idea of the nation and of the people who reject him as degenerate feminine. He is a convicted rapist, after all, and he vows to remove bodily rights from women nationally if he is elected in 2024. He vows to remove rights from the LGBTQIA+ community, from immigrants, and from anyone else that could – in the patriarchal language of authoritarians – be considered degenerate feminine. In other words, anyone who doesn’t support him.
There is a plethora of documentation on the convergence of fascism, authoritarianism, and misogyny, and I’ll admit that although I’ve read a lot of it, I’ve also blocked much of it out because it’s so overwhelming and infuriating and because there are a hundred other things in life that also need that energy. Right now though, I think it’s imperative to know the history and the resurgence of the idea of the degenerate feminine not only here in the states, but world-wide. If we don’t learn about it now, we’ll be living it like our 5th great-grandmothers did back in the pure and virginal motherland.
So, I decided to blog about it to document, for myself, what I already know and what I continue to learn. If there happens to be anyone else out there who knows more or who knows differently or has learned something new, I hope to learn from you, too. This and every election for the foreseeable future will be the elections of our lives, and we need to remember what we’re fighting for.
Don’t obey in advance, and welcome to my new blog.