You might think of misogynistic factions as being part of dystopian novels like The Handmaid’s Tale, or even as being relics of the past. However, these types of organizations are not only very real, but they are thriving. These groups perpetuate a reproductivity-driven culture in regards to women, seeing them as either vesicles of sin or simply as child-bearers. Here are a few examples of such associations:
Nxivm (pronounced Nex-e-um)
This is a Canada-based group with chapters in the U.S. and Mexico, which brands women like cattle. Women are also required to give their so-called ‘master’ any compromising material such as nude photos or videos that will then be released if they expose the group. New members are restrained and then told to say “Master, please brand me, it would be an honor”. If that wasn’t grotesque enough, the founder of this group, Keith Raniere, reportedly manipulated women into following diets that led to near-starvation so that they would achieve the body type that he found attractive and would then coerce them into having sex with him.
Also known by the name ‘Eastern Lightning,’ this is a group that most recently beat a woman to death after she refused to give them her phone number. Little is known due to the intensely secretive nature of this Chinese organization. Though officially banned by the Chinese government, they allegedly have over a million members. A member of the Church of Almighty God also stabbed an elderly woman to death after claiming to be motivated by the cult’s prophecies.
This U.S.-based organization also has chapters in England, Canada, Spain, Australia, Germany, France, Brazil and Argentina. Girls are expected to marry at 18 and become pregnant immediately. Additionally, women are supposed to cover their heads as an “outward symbol of her subservience to her man” and are required to submit to the authority and judgement of all men in the tribe. Furthermore, the cluster has come under fire for child abuse, with ex-members stating that they were beaten 30-40 times a day for the duration of their childhood.
Quiverfull is a fundamentalist Christian organization influenced by the psalm about God blessing the man whose “quiver is full of arrows.” This metaphor is commonly interpreted as referring to children. Perhaps the most well-known members are the Duggar Family, famous for the reality show ’19 Kids and Counting’. Women do not have bank accounts, email addresses and if they want to venture into the outside world, they are required to have permission from their husbands. Women are also referred to as ‘helpmeets,’ a word taken from the King James Bible, which refers to wives as created to be helpers and meet the needs to their husbands.
Also known as Cooperites, this organization is based in New Zealand and founded by an Australian man named Hopeful Christian (who was convicted and jailed on three charges of indecent sexual assault of a young woman in 1995). According to a former member (who is also the founder’s granddaughter), “women had to cover their heads, show no flesh so as not to tempt sin from the menfolk, do all the domestic work, submit to their husbands and birth as many babies as they could”. Birth control is not tolerated, as women are expected to birth as many children as they can and then go back to work immediately afterwards.
The ideologies that these organizations peddle must be actively combatted at all costs. Those brave enough to leave and risk never seeing their families again must be supported and educated so they do not fall into the trap of reverting back to this twisted way of thinking.
