”Great in the Sack”: When Misogyny Leads to Mayhem

Nicole Davenport
”Great in the Sack”: When Misogyny Leads to Mayhem

Don’t let the name of the podcast fool you...it’s a passive-aggressive poke at the way women seem to be viewed by society: expendable objects to be utilized and quite literally ended, if a perpetrator so chooses..that’s the message that I GET from the lack of action over the entire world, within our societies to protect women and girls. Let’s face it: femocide is on the rise. If you’re anything like me, then you know how important it feels to witness the stories within these cases. To be able to identify patterns of misogyny in our own lives is empowering and can also make us feel more prepared. We will be discussing crimes that include honor killings, intimate partner violence, war crimes, anti-abortion violence..all things caused by misogyny. My hopes are to educate everyone on a safer society because EVERYONE lives in society. I’m neurodivergent af and am doing this podcast alone. Sometimes episodes are late, but i’m doing my best to get them out every other week!

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    Ep. 12: Witch Hunts pt. 3 - Surveillance State: Red Scare, Lavender Lies

    **the corrected version is 1 hour and 32 minutes & 11 seconds, and doesn't seem to have hit all the podcast outlets, except podbean directly--there were a few sloppy mistakes and repetitions that were fixed, plus I added a bit!** 06/18/2025-Nicole   It's PRIDE MONTH! In pt. 3 of "Witch hunts never go out of style: the many faces of patriarchy", we explore the history and impact of the First and Second Red Scares, alongside the lesser-known but deeply more consequential Lavender Scare. Through a feminist lens, we will take a look at how anti-Communist and anti-LGBTQ campaigns intersected with broader patterns of state surveillance, moral panic, and social control in mid-20th century America. The episode traces how these government-led efforts affected not only political dissenters and artists but also disproportionately targeted queer individuals and other marginalized groups, such as people of color. The next episode will feature the black scare, AKA cointelpro-I didn't want to cram it into this episode, because I wanted to make sure to spend enough time on each of these damaging, tragic moral panics which were waged against those who were seen as "other", or deemed less than.      While primarily historical in focus, the discussion draws brief parallels to contemporary dynamics of power, identity, and civil liberties.   Show Notes:   Kady Grass' gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-kady-grass-after-brutal-attack    The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. They provide information & support to LGBTQ+ young people 24/7, all year round. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/    ILGA World, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association: https://ilga.org/    Rainbow Railroad helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety. https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/      socials: greatinthesackpodcast@gmail.com ig: @g.i.t.s.podcast tiktok: @greatinthesackpodcast tiktok: @neurodivergentfeminist   Sources: https://www.universityarchives.com/auction-lot/j.-edgar-hoover-tls-on-joseph-mccarthy-a-hero-va_AEE482F9F9?utm    archivesfoundation.org+5nglcc.org+5nps.gov+5them.us.    https://time.com/6697055/welfare-queen-stereotype-origins/    https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspects-allegedly-attacked-woman-mcdonalds-sexual-orientation-face/story?id=122274998    https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-social-history/article/james-a-baer-anarchist-immigrants-in-spain-and-argentina-university-of-illinois-press-urbana-il-etc-2015-xviii-240-pp-ill-5500-travis-tomchuk-transnational-radicals-italian-anarchists-in-canada-and-the-us-19151940-university-of-manitoba-press-winnipeg2015-xi-260-pp-ill-2795-epub-ebook-2000-pdf-ebook-2000-kenyon-zimmer-immigrants-against-the-state-yiddish-and-italian-anarchism-in-america-the-working-class-in-american-history-university-of-illinois-press-urbana-etc-2015-x-300-pp-ill-9500-paper-3000/09E310DFA917DC6A84668205FDEB9BA2    https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palmer-Raids    https://web.archive.org/web/20110719193328/http://comptalk.fiu.edu/blacklist.htm    https://guides.library.illinoisstate.edu/c.php?g=1173721&p=8576276    https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Marx    https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/50-worst-decisions-movie-history-list-50256/ronald-reagan-tells-the-house-un-american-activities-committee-that-the-screen-actors-guild-is-full-of-communists-50298/    https://levin-center.org/joe-mccarthys-oversight-abuses/    https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/analysis-testimony-j-edgar-hoover-house-un-american-activities-committee#:~:text=The%20context%20of%20his%20testimony,tumultuous%20period%20in%20American%20history.    https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/lavender-scare.htm?utm_source    https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal54-1358787#:~:text=On%20May%204%20McCarthy%20offered,FBI%20memo%2C%20on%20security%20grounds.  https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/mattachine-society.htm#:~:text=The%20Mattachine%20Society%20set%20the,who%20were%20arrested%5B2%5D.

    1h 32m

  2. 23 MAY

    Ep. 11: Witch Hunts pt 2- Salem, hysteria, eugenics, oh my!

    In Part 2 of our series on witch hunts and patriarchy, we pick up at the decline of the European witch trials..starting with the end of the English (Anglican) prosecutions and moving through the infamous hysteria in Salem. From there, we explore how the so-called Enlightenment ushered in new systems of control under the guise of reason and progress. If this era was truly "enlightened," why did the transatlantic slave trade not only continue, but expand? This episode asks what we choose to see as civilized—and what, or who, we are willing to sacrifice to maintain that image. We then trace the enduring legacy of accusation, punishment, and control into colonial Africa, where European powers exported witchcraft panic as part of their imperial toolkit. From there, we transition into the rise of modern medicine and the medicalization of women’s bodies...where midwives and healers were replaced by male-dominated institutions, and into the development of eugenics as a tool to justify social hierarchies and racial "purity." We end with the Nazi regime’s calculated use of ableism, psuedoscience and gendered violence to define who was worthy of life, & who was not. This episode connects centuries of persecution, "progress," and power, revealing how patriarchal systems evolve, but never disappear. In part 3 (and quite possibly part 4), we will be starting with the McCarthy era, including the Lavender Scare, up through the "crack-baby" myth and the Welfare Queen trope, to the current status of the DEI pushback...worldwide, not just in the United States. greatinthesack@gmail.com www.instagram.com/@g.i.t.s.podcast  www.tiktok.com/greatinthesackpodcast www.tiktok.com/neurodivergentfeminist    Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/    https://www.dw.com/en/women-as-spoils-of-war-at-the-end-of-world-war-ii/video-69022168    https://eji.org/report/transatlantic-slave-trade/    https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/17/603163394/-father-of-gynecology-who-experimented-on-slaves-no-longer-on-pedestal-in-nyc    https://www.researchwithrutgers.com/en/publications/reassessing-eugenic-sterilization-the-case-of-north-carolina    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-13700490    https://www.britannica.com/search?query=eugenics    https://practitioners.exeter.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Eastanglianwitchtrialappendix2.pdf    https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/rosemary-kennedy    https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-man-who-found-that-genes-hold-culture-on-a-leash    https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/d1e304.html    https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-441?p=emailAeg10H8z/RsN6&d=/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-441    https://19thnews.org/2022/02/forced-sterilization-guardianship-reproductive-justice/     Lombardo, Paul, Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court and Buck v. Bell, (2008)

    1h 16m

  3. 4 MAY

    Ep. 10: Witch Hunts Never Go Out of Style: The Many Faces of Patriarchy pt 1

    From the chilling trials in Valais, Switzerland, to the tortured confessions of Pendle and Salem, this episode uncovers the long arc of misogyny cloaked in religious fervor and legal authority. We trace how accusations of heresy & witchcraft can come as a result of moral corruption and political instability — and have been wielded to control women, the poor, the different, and the defiant throughout history. With voices lost to fire and rope, and others silenced by shame or forced to flee, this isn't just a story of the past. This is a ritual the patriarchy never quite stopped performing. In part 2, we follow this ritual as it evolves—from the Puritan gallows to the propaganda of Nazi Germany, from Cold War suspicion to today’s backlash against inclusion. The targets may change, but the hunt remains the same.   greatinthesack@gmail.com www.instagram.com/@greatinthesacktruecrimepodcast  www.tiktok.com/greatinthesackpodcast www.tiktok.com/neurodivergentfeminist    show sources: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-21/girl-brutally-tortured-in-png-after-accusations-of-sorcery/9168876 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/women-witchcraft-papua-new-guinea-b1863343.html  https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-latin-american-womens-literature/women-cronistas-in-colonial-latin-america/5E27EA2D8B80D9441CA470E3CCD21F1F  https://www.thecollector.com/inquisition-cases-colonial-mexico/  https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Ferdinand-and-Isabella/353119  https://www.thoughtco.com/european-witch-hunts-timeline-3530786#:~:text=The%20European%20witch%20hunts%20lasted,and%20more%20susceptible%20to%20witchcraft.  https://www.irss.uoguelph.ca/index.php/irss/article/view/5801/5957  Kieckhefer, Richard (2013). "The First Wave of Trials for Diabolical Witchcraft". The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America. https://web.archive.org/web/20070813092734/http://www.lclark.edu/~schoen/weyer.html  https://scandinavianhistory.org/2021/06/20/the-witch-trials-of-dalarna/  https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/swedish-witch-trials-dark-heritage  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_trials_in_early_modern_Scotland  https://www.worldhistory.org/Salem_Witch_Trials/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAoULJ02Zg_XnLF-mUWXgvP6pYSvk8&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt8zABhDKARIsAHXuD7aBBG_K_lNYrPir26w76fTEEkCrE9Lr6-k8KuWm7GSupKx0Pacuj9kaAsehEALw_wcB

    1h 11m

  4. 18 APR

    Ep. 9: Kalashnikovs and Co-leadership: the road towards the Rojava Revolution

    This week on Great in the Sack: When Misogyny Leads to Mayhem, we unpack a revolution born not in peace, but in the wreckage of war—where colonial borders, religious authoritarianism, and patriarchal power all collided. And somehow, out of that fire, a feminist experiment began to breathe. Welcome to Rojava—northeastern Syria—where Kurdish women took up arms against ISIS...& began rewriting society itself. Drawing from the radical philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan, a former Marxist turned jailed Kurdish thinker, Rojava’s political model—democratic confederalism—is a bold rejection of both Western imperialism and religious authoritarianism. Here, power is decentralized. Ethnic divisions are challenged. And women? They are co-chairs, commanders, lawmakers, and rebels. Every council is led by one man and one woman. Every major decision is filtered through a lens of gender equality. But this revolution didn’t just spring up—it’s a direct response to decades of betrayal. Colonial legacies carved up Kurdistan, denying the Kurds a homeland and pushing them into the margins of nation-states that treated them as problems to be solved—or erased. Add to that the rise of armed Islamist groups enforcing Sharia law with an iron fist, and you get the perfect storm for radical, necessary reinvention. We explore the tension between Islamic fundamentalism and female autonomy, how the Rojava model challenges both capitalist modernity and sectarian domination, and why this revolution—still under siege from every direction—may be one of the most important feminist stories of the 21st century.   Red Crescent Rojava: https://hskurd.org/en/    Emergency aide for Rojava: https://heyvasor.com/en/2024/12/03/emergency-aid-for-rojava/#pll_switcher      instagram.com/@greatinthesacktruecrimepodcast  tiktok.com/greatinthesackpodcast greatinthesackpodcast@gmail.com   show notes: https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/11/26/group-denial/repression-kurdish-political-and-cultural-rights-syria?utm_  Conflict Between Turkey and Armed Kurdish Groups | Global Conflict Tracker  https://hawarnews.com/en/mother-of-martyr-hevrin-khalaf-my-daughters-killers-are-stillroaming-free    https://youtu.be/cMfJRnWu52Y   Wayback Machine   Timeline: The Kurds’ Long Struggle With Statelessness  https://nypost.com/2024/03/30/long-mistreated-by-iraq-the-kurds-need-americas-attention-now/?utm_source=chatgpt.com   Turkey: Facing a New Millennium: Coping With Intertwined Conflicts, Amikam Nachmani, p. 210, 2003   Turkey Claims That Syria's Kurds Are Terrorists. Should Anyone Believe Them?  The Kurdistan Memory Programme   D'Alema: Abdullah Öcalan is right. Solving the Kurdish question is crucial for peace in the Middle East - The Kurdish Center for Studies

    1h 5m

  5. 6 APR

    Ep. 8: The Real-Life Serena Waterford: How Phyllis Schlafly Betrayed Women like Selena Maria Chandler-Scott

    In this episode, we track the rise of Phyllis Schlafly-—the woman who weaponized housewife aesthetics and femininity to bulldoze the Equal Rights Amendment and hand America the long-term consequences we're still living through, and we will discuss a bit of that 2nd wave feminism. We follow the feminist heroes of the early 1970s—Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Brenda Feigen, Shirley Chisholm, and others—as they fought tooth and nail for the ERA, only to be blindsided by Schlafly’s grift in pearls: STOP ERA. You’ll hear how Schlafly mobilized fear, fundamentalism, and good old-fashioned misogyny to convince women they didn’t need rights—just a pie in the oven and a man in charge. We head into the chaos of the 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston—slaps, slogans, and sabotage—before pivoting to Reagan’s rise, the GOP’s courtship of the religious right, and how Schlafly helped lay the groundwork for Trumpism. We’ll show how Schlafly’s fingerprints are all over today’s anti-abortion fanaticism, with stories like that of Selena Maria from Tifton, GA—a terrifying reminder of what happens when women’s healthcare becomes collateral in a culture war. But we end with resistance. You’ll hear about state-level ERAs, Senator Gillibrand’s push to make the ERA the 28th Amendment, and what you can do to help. Because the future of bodily autonomy and equality isn’t dead—it’s just waiting for us to wake the hell up.   Show notes/sources:   (Selena's go fund me)--> https://gofund.me/69868b43    IG.com/@greatinthesacktruecrimepodcost    greatinthesackpodcast@gmail.com   youtube.com/greatinthesacktruecrimepodcast   Also follow: IG.com/@abortionfluencer for important activism!         https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1977-conference-womens-rights-split-america-two-180962174/?utm_source=chatgpt.com    https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-phyllis-schlafly-snap-story.html    https://journals.openedition.org/rrca/1226?lang=en#tocfrom1n1    https://www.jezebel.com/georgia-police-jailed-woman-for-miscarriage-performed-autopsy-on-miscarried-fetus    https://www.thecut.com/article/why-a-georgia-womans-arrest-after-miscarriage-is-disturbing.html    https://meidasnews.com/news/georgia-woman-arrested-after-disposing-of-miscarriage    https://www.tifton.net/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=151&utm_source=chatgpt.com    https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093633/http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancyloss/conditioninfo/Pages/risk.aspx    https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/04/01/georgia-woman-miscarriage/    https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-04-29/mrs-america-phyllis-schlafly-gay-son-brenda-marc-feigen-fasteau    https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b7fc60f4-9a5d-449a-858e-67afebd21dcc/content    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade#:~:text=On%20January%2022%2C%201973%2C%20the,Texas's%20abortion%20ban%20as%20unconstitutional.    https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/suffragists-suffragettes-difference/    https://web.archive.org/web/20120214143336/http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/2010/declare.htm    https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-05-14/mrs-america-fx-hulu-bella-abzug-margo-martindale    https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phyllis-schlafly?utm_source=chatgpt.com    https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/23/archives/rights-plan-foes-celebrate-its-difficulties-with-a-gala-award-for.html    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-era-solidifies-womens-rights-in-the-constitution-as-the-28th-amendment/    https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/phyllis-schlafly-feminist-troll/498737/?utm_source=chatgpt.com  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/17/joe-biden-equal-rights-amendment?utm_source=chatgpt.com

    1 hr

  6. 27 MAR

    Ep. 7: Incel/ ideology pt 2: Inceldom explained- the case of Tres Genco

    Episode 7 – Inceldom Explained: The Case of Tres Genco **CONTENT WARNING** DISCUSSIONS OF SELF EXIT, AND MASS SHOOTINGS-USE DISCRETION WHERE AND WHEN YOU LISTEN.   A growing subculture of disaffected men has turned their anger into a violent ideology. Incels—short for “involuntary celibates”—believe they are entitled to sex and that women, and society at large, are to blame for their isolation. While many incels remain behind keyboards, some take their hatred into the real world. Tres Genco was one of them. Inspired by past attacks, he stockpiled weapons, wrote a manifesto detailing his violent fantasies, and planned a mass shooting targeting women. He was caught before he could act, sentenced, released… and then arrested again. His case would  reveal the dangerous escalation of his own inceldom- from an online OBSESSION to real-world violence. In this episode, we’ll break down Genco’s crimes, the psychological and social factors that drive incels toward extremism, and the triad of risk factors that can help identify when someone is on the path to radicalization.   Show notes/sources: Office of Public Affairs | Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting Hate Crime | United States Department of Justice    Office of Public Affairs | Ohio Man Charged with Hate Crime Related to Plot to Conduct Mass Shooting of Women, Illegal Possession of Machine Gun | United States Department of Justice    Parental Investment Theory (Chapter 7) - The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Sexual Psychology    Ohio 'incel' who plotted to kill women at college is sentenced to 6 years in prison   Intervening in Problematic Research Approaches to Incel Violence, Men and Masculinities | 10.1177/1097184x231200825 | DeepDyve   Self-described Ohio 'incel' sentenced to 6 years behind bars after planning to kill sorority girls in manifesto | Blaze Media    Interviewing I*cel Expert William Costello    The Truth About Incels | Novara Media   Incel Convicted For Planning Attack | Dangers of Unwanted Celibacy | Tres Genco Case Analysis    The woman who founded the 'incel' movement   Incels, violence and mental disorder: a narrative review with recommendations for best practice in risk assessment and clinical intervention | BJPsych Advances | Cambridge Core    United States v. Genco, 584 F. Supp. 3d 515 | Casetext Search + Citator

    48 min

  7. 15 MAR

    Ep. 6: Which came first..the incel or the ideology part 1: The Story of Ayşenur Halil and İkbal Uzuner

    When 19-year-olds Ayşenur Halil and İkbal Uzuner were murdered by Semih Çelik  in October 2023, the public was left grappling with a question: Was this the act of an incel, a narcissist, a psychopath—or something even more insidious? In this episode, we break down the disturbing timeline of events, from Semih's growing obsession with İkbal to the deadly deception that led both young women to their tragic fate. We examine the role of misogyny, extremist online communities, and whether incels are truly an isolated group or just a symptom of a much deeper societal disease. As we analyze CCTV footage, online activity, and Semih's final moments, we ask: Does it really matter what label we give him? Or is the real issue the violent entitlement that keeps claiming women's lives? Join us as we dissect the psychology, the ideology, and—most importantly—the reality of what happened to Ayşenur and İkbal. Because if we don’t confront the roots of misogyny, the cycle will never stop.   ig.com/@great_in_the_sack_podcast   greatinthesackpodcast@gmail.com   WE WILL STOP FEMICIDE PLATFORM: WE ARE LEARNING, EXPLAINING AND EXTENDING THE STRUGGLE FOR ENGLISH    Anıt Sayaç : Şiddetten Ölen Kadınlar İçin Dijital Anıt    https://balkaninsight.com/2024/10/09/turkey-blocks-access-to-discord-online-platform-citing-child-safety-concerns/    https://www.haberturk.com/semih-celik-olayi-nedir-cinayeti-neden-isledi-ve-ailesi-kim-ikbal-uzuner-ve-aysenur-halili-katleden-semih-celik-kimdir-3727857/4    https://medyascope.tv/2024/10/08/ikbal-uzuner-ve-aysenur-halili-olduren-semih-celikin-ailesinin-ifadesi-alindi-olay-gunu-neler-yasandi/    Bates,   Laura, Men Who Hate Women, Laura Bates' Book 'Men Who Hate Women' Exposes Manosphere, World Of Incels : NPR    https://freedomhouse.org/explore-the-map?type=fiw&year=2025     https://www.medipol.edu.tr/en/news/medipol-students-remembered-aysenur-halil     https://www.sabah.com.tr/trend/galeri/yasam/son-dakika-katil-semih-celiki-babasi-anlatti-odasinda-insani-korkutan-seytani-figurler-sabah-tum-detaylara-ulasti     https://t24.com.tr/yazarlar/candan-yildiz/aysenur-halil-in-abileri-konustu-kardesim-icine-kapanik-biriydi-neden-gitti-tehdit-mi-edildi-santaj-mi-yapildi,46675#google_vignette     How One Man got Discord Banned in Turkey...

    1h 4m

  8. 24 FEB

    Ep. 5: a conversation with Shane, from the podcast, "If men can't listen to..."

    This episode features a light conversation about misogyny.

    41 min
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About

Don’t let the name of the podcast fool you...it’s a passive-aggressive poke at the way women seem to be viewed by society: expendable objects to be utilized and quite literally ended, if a perpetrator so chooses..that’s the message that I GET from the lack of action over the entire world, within our societies to protect women and girls. Let’s face it: femocide is on the rise. If you’re anything like me, then you know how important it feels to witness the stories within these cases. To be able to identify patterns of misogyny in our own lives is empowering and can also make us feel more prepared. We will be discussing crimes that include honor killings, intimate partner violence, war crimes, anti-abortion violence..all things caused by misogyny. My hopes are to educate everyone on a safer society because EVERYONE lives in society. I’m neurodivergent af and am doing this podcast alone. Sometimes episodes are late, but i’m doing my best to get them out every other week!

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