Internalized Misogyny: A Literature Review
Keywords:
Internalized Misogyny, Young Adult Women, Patriarchy, Psychological Well-Being, Narrative Literature ReviewAbstract
Abstract. Patriarchal norms in Indonesia often operate subtly, framing restrictions on women's autonomy as accepted social rules rather than overt coercion. Repeated exposure to such norms through family, peers, and media fosters internalized misogyny, a psychosocial mechanism in which women unconsciously adopt misogynistic attitudes toward themselves and other women. This condition significantly predicts depression, anxiety, and stress, especially among young adult women aged 18 to 29, a period marked by intensive identity exploration. This study used a Narrative Literature Review method following Sarkar and Bhatia (2021), searching Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect with set inclusion and exclusion criteria. From 61 initial articles, three empirical studies met eligibility after screening with Rayyan AI. Results show internalized misogyny functions as a distinct self-directed stigma, causing both inward psychological distress and outward moral policing of other women, such as anti-abortion attitudes among religious women. Triggers include digital red-pill media and traditional cultural socialization. Existing literature remains Western-centric and relies on quantitative cross-sectional designs, leaving a gap in non-Western, collectivist contexts like Indonesia. Future research should use qualitative phenomenological approaches to explore how young Indonesian women experience internalized misogyny in daily life.
References
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Sarkar, S., & Bhatia, G. (2021). Writing and appraising narrative reviews. Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research, 10(3), 169–172. https://doi.org/10.4103/jcsr.jcsr_1_21
Sukhera, J. (2022). Narrative reviews: Flexible, rigorous, and practical. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 14(4), 414–417. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-22-00480.1
Szymanski, D. M., Gupta, A., Carr, E. R., & Stewart, D. (2009). Internalized misogyny as a moderator of the link between sexist events and women's psychological distress. Sex Roles, 61(1–2), 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9611-y
Yin, Q., & Abdullah, K. B. B. (2024). Analysis of gender discourse bias and gender discrimination in social media: A case study of the TikTok platform. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 24(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v24i2.802
Ahmad, M. N. (2025). Narrative literature reviews in scientific research: Pros and cons. Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 21(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.35516/jjas.v21i1.4143
Arnett, J. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for? Child Development Perspectives, 1(2), 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x
Arnett, J. J. (2014). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199929382.001.0001
Bearman, S., Korobov, N., & Thorne, A. (2009). The fabric of internalized sexism. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 1(1), 10–47.
Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88(4), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.4.354
Bozkur, B. (2020). Developing internalized sexism scale for women: A validity and reliability study. International Journal of Eurasian Education and Culture, 5(11), 1981–2028. https://doi.org/10.35826/ijoecc.289
Dalimonthe, I., Siregar, Y. A., Islami, P. Y. N., & Afdhal. (2025). Imagined violence and soft gender: Proposing new conceptual categories in gender discourses of Indonesian ethnic practices. INJECT (Interdisciplinary Journal of Communication), 10(2), 1715–1736. https://doi.org/10.18326/inject.v10i2.5215
Dickie, H. (2026). Digital misogyny and the female self-concept: How red-pill media shapes mental health and self-esteem. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9621783/v1
Eleanora, F. N., & Supriyanto, E. (2020). Violence against women and patriarchal culture in Indonesia. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 7(9), 396–405. http://dx.doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v7i9.1912
Ertl, M. M., & Ahn, L. H. (2026). Development and initial validation of the Measure of Internalized Misogyny with cisgender U.S. women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 73(3), 384–397. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000829
Evteeva, M., Burges, L., & Sales Gelabert, T. (2024). Internalized misogyny: The patriarchy inside our heads. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 14(1).
Furley, P., & Goldschmied, N. (2021). Systematic vs. narrative reviews in sport and exercise psychology: Is either approach superior to the other? Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 685082. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685082
Gök, B. (2025). The effect of behavioral attitudes and internalized misogyny perception on dating violence attitudes in female university students. Lokman Hekim Health Sciences, 5(2), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.14744/lhhs.2025.61243
Grigoropoulos, I. (2025). Social-psychological dynamics of Greek women's attitudes to abortion: Internalized misogyny and personal belief in a just world moderate religious opposition to abortion. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-025-01185-6
Harahap, N., & Jailani, M. (2024). Eksistensi perempuan dalam budaya patriarki pada masyarakat muslim. Education and Social Sciences Review, 80–88. https://doi.org/10.29210/07essr474300
Jost, J. T., Becker, J., Osborne, D., & Badaan, V. (2014). Missing in (collective) action: Ideology, system justification, and the motivational paradox of social protest. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106(4), 637–656. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035712
Kågesten, A., Gibbs, S., Blum, R. W., Moreau, C., Chandra-Mouli, V., Herbert, A., & Amin, A. (2016). Understanding factors that shape gender attitudes in early adolescence globally: A mixed-methods systematic review. PLOS ONE, 11(6), e0157805. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157805
Manne, K. (2017). Down girl: The logic of misogyny. Oxford University Press.
Mitchell, L., Lodi-Smith, J., Baranski, E., & Whitbourne, S. K. (2021). Implications of identity resolution in emerging adulthood for intimacy, generativity, and integrity across the adult lifespan. Psychology and Aging, 36(5), 545–556. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000537
Munir, M., & Saidah, R. (2025). Keadilan gender di Indonesia: Antara realitas patriarki dan peluang perubahan. MIYAH: Jurnal Studi Islam, 21(2), 353–366.
Nabilaputri, F. F., Sumadinata, R. W. S., & Darmawan, W. B. (2026). Under two patriarchal authorities? Subordination of female peacekeepers by husbands and the state: A feminist critique. Ilomata International Journal of Social Science, 7(1), 310–329. https://doi.org/10.52728/ijss.v7i1.2047
Nurfitriani, S., Iskandar, I., & Ansoriyah, S. (2025). Pola misogini pada media populer Indonesia: Media berita daring, YouTube, dan Instagram. Jurnal Onoma Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 11(2), 2515–2536. https://doi.org/10.30605/onoma.v11i2.5811
Piggott, M. (2004). Double jeopardy: Lesbians and the legacy of multiple stigmatised identities. Swinburne University of Technology. https://doi.org/10.25916/sut.26263172
Sakina, A. I., & Siti Ahdiah, D. H. (2017). Menyoroti budaya patriarki di Indonesia. Share: Social Work Journal, 7(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.24198/share.v7i1.13820
Sarkar, S., & Bhatia, G. (2021). Writing and appraising narrative reviews. Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research, 10(3), 169–172. https://doi.org/10.4103/jcsr.jcsr_1_21
Sukhera, J. (2022). Narrative reviews: Flexible, rigorous, and practical. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 14(4), 414–417. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-22-00480.1
Szymanski, D. M., Gupta, A., Carr, E. R., & Stewart, D. (2009). Internalized misogyny as a moderator of the link between sexist events and women's psychological distress. Sex Roles, 61(1–2), 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9611-y
Yin, Q., & Abdullah, K. B. B. (2024). Analysis of gender discourse bias and gender discrimination in social media: A case study of the TikTok platform. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 24(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v24i2.802
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2026-08-03
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