Sexism, misogyny, and gender violence: feminist political thought in the colonial, heteropatriarchal, carceral state of Australia

This chapter charts historical and contemporary debates about sexism, misogyny, and gender violence in Australian feminist political theory. Using moral philosopher Kate Manne’s feminist philosophical framework about the nature of misogyny, this chapter embraces multidisciplinary perspectives to examine engagement with and resistance to the Australian state. Women’s liberationists began to address the problem of violence against women and children during the 1970s, yet sexism, misogyny, and gender violence persist in the twenty-first century. This chapter considers state, media, and activist responses, including grassroots campaigns, online misogyny, the prestigious Australian of the Year Awards, and contemporary law reform. Conceptualisations of these problems reveal significant divergences in perspective: not only does divergence exist between the Australian state, the media, and activists, but also between activists themselves, especially regarding the question of criminalisation. Ongoing debates highlight the dynamics of whose voices gain precedence and how this affects politics, the media, activism, policing, and the law today.