Cryptogyny: a new word, a concept to research

Abstract

The concealment of female referents in the different fields of social prestige and, therefore, the disappearance or underestimation of women’s contributions to any space of power where visibility and notoriety are valued is a very old phenomenon to which no one had given name so far, but which we have suffered systematically as societies. The authors have created a concept that clearly evidences this shortcoming. The word cryptogyny consists of two Greek elements easily identifiable in other words of our languages: crypto (to hide) and gyné (woman). In this work, in addition to the etymological and linguistic argumentation, the authors present a series of cultural and sociological reasons that justify the opportunity of the new term to, finally, establish lines of action framed in the articulation of a didactic proposal.