We too often dismiss misogyny as "child's play."

When we fail to name everyday policing of gender roles and expressions, we normalize inequality and violence.

We can disrupt this cycle by calling out even seemingly small sexist behaviors.

Part one of a two-part series.

On a subway ride for my son’s second-grade field trip, a girl wanted to sit with the boys. For a moment, this seemed unremarkable (the endearing character Anybodys from West Side Story comes to mind). Then one boy mockingly dared the other boys to sit next to her.

The mood shifted from playfulness to shame. Shame directed at the girl for deviating from social expectations (You’re out of line!) and shame threatening any boy who risked joining her (Don’t you dare give up your power!).

When my son and one of the chaperones later described this event to me (I wasn’t there), I recalled my first day of kindergarten. A boy in my class pushed me off a jungle gym, yelling, “I don’t like ‘girls!’” He was presumably punishing me for my feminine mannerisms.

Many adults continue to dismiss such cruel acts of social policing as “child’s play.” “Boys will be boys,” an educated and equality-minded friend of mine said recently, throwing up her arms in resignation as she recounted her nephews teasing one another to tears. Sociologist Cynthia Miller-Idriss, however, offers a more precise explanation for these behaviors: a proactive reassertion of patriarchal power.

In her new book Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism, Miller-Idriss........

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