misogyny and misotramontanism

Though there are many words in English beginning with the prefix "miso," signifying hatred of something, the OED assures us that there are more words with the prefix "philo" (lover of) thatn "miso" in English. Does that suggest anything about us? Possibly that we lack imagination in coming up with words for things we dislike. This essay finishes my treatment of "miso-" words, and then concludes by suggesting a few more things we could rightfully hate.

Starting with the Obvious Ones

Misogamy and misogyny and their relatives contribute about ten words to the OED. The first attestation of the former (from 1560) gives us a "Pilgrim's Progress"-type of quotation that shouldn't be missed: "You may well be called Mr. Agamus or Misogamus, Surnamed in right English, Wedspite, or Spitewed." Misogyny and misogynist go back to the 17th century though, no doubt, the reality to which the words points is as old as the human condition. Byron said: "I..intrigued for myself a place as far remote as possible from his fair guests...to confirm my misogyny." References in literature to misogyny arising out of a disappointment in love are legion. While words for hatred of women go back nearly 400 years, the word misandry (the hatred of males) was only first attested in 1909. The Century Dictionary first attests it. The words is useful in describing other cultures. "Such women are common in ...Kwangtung Province, where there is a tradition of misandry." And, as recently as 1994, the New York Times could say: "Her book..is another feminist sally into misandry."

Surprising it is to me that the term misandry/misandrist doesn't occur much more often in writing. However, just as most other subjects imaginable have been considered in a book, so we have the book Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture, by Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young. According to a few reviews posted online, this book (which I don't think I'll have time to read), surveys the pervasive and intrusive character of negative male characterizations in film, books, advertisements and other venues of popular culture. I suppose there is enough information "out there" to confirm a view that misandry and misogyny are alive and well in our culture. Where is Rodney King ("can't we all just get along?") when you need him?

A Couple Catchy "Miso's"

One of my favorite "miso's" is misocapnic/misocapnist, the latter of which means someone who hates tobacco smoke. However, the OED only attests it once (1839; thus making it an "OED hapax": "Offending the nostrils of all misocapnists with the fumes of his mundungus." Mundungus is tobacco of poor-quality), though you would think that it is a word ripe for rediscovery. After all, in the state where I reside, Oregon, smoking in a restaurant seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The misocapnists have won a victory. The primary means by which misocapnists have become such a potent force is through studies of the effect of second-hand smoke on people.* I think it is high time to get some t-shirts about the subject. So, let's smoke

[*While on the word "capno" for a second, the Greek word for "smoke," we should pause on capnomancy, the process of divination by smoke. Augustine mentions it in the City of God--or, at least Healey's 1610 translation of that work has: "Divination..was done..by smoake, Capnomancy."]

out the misocapnists. Agree?

Then there is misoneism, the hatred of new things. This would be the opposite attitude to those who St. Paul discovered at Athens (Acts 17), who did nothing all day but talk about new things. I recall that in my Evangelical days there was a chorus of knowing "amens" when this passage was read--arising from our commitment at the time to the good old Gospel. But I don't know if Evangelicals are still as opposed to new things anymore. I don't think so--or they would be opposed to their gaining influence in the political arena.

Misotramontanism will probably not be mentioned outside the confines of this page, but means, literally, "hatred (of those beyond) the mountains." Ultramontanism, a familiar word to those who have delved somewhat deeply into ecclesiastical history, means the doctrine of favoring those who live "beyond the mountains" (from the perspective of France, referring to those in Italy), and therefore being devoted to a doctrine of absolute papal authority. But misotramontanism is defined by the OED as hatred (from the perspective of Italians) of those who live "beyond the mountains." Hey, this doesn't seem fair. Why should the Italians be able to hate, which misotramontanism permits them to do, and at the same time, be the subject of adulation, which ultramontanism allows. Can't anyone hate them?

Conclusion

Time would fail me to go through misobalist (hatred of kings) or misocyny (hatred of dogs...but there is no word for hatred of cats, which I think would be a much more common phenomenon. Why can't we invent a word--misofele-- to do that?), misoxeny, which is a synonym for xenophobia, misopaedia, which was WC Fields' problem (hatred of children), and misopogonistically, which means "with a hatred of beards." Come to think of it, there are so many things we could hate, and it is sort of a pity that we don't have more words to describe them. For example, three things on my mind to hate now are the taxman, solicitors who call you despite my being on the federal "Do Not Call" list and alarm clocks. I am sure that, given a chance, you could come up with many more. What would they be?

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