Misogynist terrorism

Misogynist terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by the desire to punish women. It is an extreme form of misogyny—the policing of women's compliance to patriarchal gender expectations.^[1] Misogynist terrorism uses mass indiscriminate violence in an attempt to avenge nonconformity with those expectations or to reinforce the perceived superiority of men.

Since 2018, misogynist or male supremacist ideology has been listed and tracked by counter-terrorist organizations as an emerging terrorist threat. The terms male supremacist terrorism and misogynistic extremism are also used for these acts of violence.

Misogynist terrorism often targets representatives or stand-ins for a type of person that the terrorist feels anger toward. For instance, some have been motivated by a perception of entitlement to sex with women of a type the perpetrator sees as attractive. These attacks, some arising from the incel subculture, have targeted both women and men seen as sexually successful.