Philogyny

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Philogyny is fondness, love or admiration of women.^[1][2] Its antonym is misogyny. Philogyny is not to be confused with gynephilia, which is sexual attraction to women or femininity.

One of the earliest examples of philogyny is the poet Sappho who was an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by a lyre. In ancient times, Sappho was widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets and was given names such as the "Tenth Muse" and "The Poetess". Sappho was a prolific poet, probably composing around 10,000 lines. Her poetry was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, and she was among the canon of Nine Lyric Poets most highly esteemed by scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. Sappho's poetry is still considered extraordinary and her works continue to influence other writers. Beyond her poetry, she is well known as a symbol of love and desire between women, with the English words sapphic and lesbian being derived from her own name and the name of her home island respectively. Whilst her importance as a poet is confirmed from the earliest times, all interpretations of her work have been coloured and influenced by discussions of her sexuality. Most of Sappho's poetry is now lost, and what is extant has mostly survived in fragmentary form; two notable exceptions are the "Ode to Aphrodite" and the Tithonus poem.

Christian Groes-Green has argued that the conceptual content of philogyny must be developed as an alternative to the concept of misogyny. Criticizing R.W. Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinities he shows how philogynous masculinities play out among youth in Maputo, Mozambique.^[3]

Philogyny comes from philo- (loving) and Greek gynē (woman). The parallel Greek-based terms with respect to men (males) are philandry for "fondness of men" and misandry for "hatred of men". Parallel terms for humanity generally are philanthropy and misanthropy.

Women who experience internalized philogyny may express it through amplifying the value of women, trusting women, and disbelieving gender bias in favor of men. A common manifestation of internalized philogyny is a sense of well being and safety. The belief of the love and admiration of women diminishes lateral violence.

Philogyny has taken shape as sexual liberation.

Philogynist attitudes lead to the physical, sexual, and emotional safety of gender nonconforming boys in childhood.

• Androphilia and gynephilia
• Gynocentrism
• Gynophobia