A Review of Internalised Misogyny and its Manifestation in Women’s Psychopathology

This review reconceptualises internalised misogyny as a clinically relevant mechanism of psychological distress in women, rather than a peripheral sociopolitical phenomenon. Synthesising feminist psychological theory with clinical research, it investigates how internalised sexist beliefs manifest as shame, perfectionism, emotional suppression, disordered eating, and trauma-related symptoms. The paper critiques the Internalised Misogyny Scale for lacking cultural and intersectional sensitivity, rendering them inadequate in diverse contexts like India. Diagnostic frameworks such as the DSM and ICD similarly omit sexism as etiological, leading to fragmented and depoliticised clinical interpretations. Drawing on Indian feminist scholarship, the paper explores how caste, colourism, respectability politics, and religious norms reinforce gendered self-policing. It exposes critical blind spots in mainstream and even feminist clinical models, and argues for feminist-informed therapies, such as narrative and relational-cultural therapy, that validate gendered suffering and challenge oppressive internalised scripts. By framing internalised misogyny as a somatised, culturally entangled, and under-recognised driver of women’s psychopathology, this review advocates for decolonial, trauma-informed clinical practices and culturally grounded future research.