Guys who hate on girls who enjoy astrology are walking red flags. Of course, everyone is allowed their opinions–even I struggle with the concept that stars and planets have any impact on my life–but attacking someone over something so innocuous is stupid. So what if a girl reads a horoscope? So what if she comments that something is “so Sagittarius?” I don’t understand how that hurts or offends anyone on such a personal level that they feel the need to start an argument…unless it’s not actually about astrology but rather about misogyny. 

In my experience, if anyone is starting a conflict over something benign, then they’re not trying to have an educated debate: they’re trying to put someone down for expressing an interest. In other words, guys are using astrology as a cover for putting down women. Which is unfortunate because for many women astrology is an escape. Some use it as a source of humor in their lives, and some use it to cope with challenges they face. 

Why is astrology such an effective tool against women? Guys can use the fact that it is pseudoscience as ‘evidence’ that a woman is unintelligent. If she tries to defend herself and an idea that’s not necessarily backed up by hard facts, she comes out looking crazy, for lack of a better word.  If she does nothing and lets it go, then she looks like she knows she’s wrong and is faced with a gloating misogynist. It’s a trap that can be tricky to navigate. 

I have found one way out of it, however, and it’s actually pretty easy. If any girl reading this is put into a situation where she’s participating in an overblown dispute, point out the misogyny. In today’s world, most guys are terrified of being labeled as prejudiced and it usually puts them on the defensive. Effectively, the trap is dismantled and the course of the fight is redirected towards the true motivation of their behavior. 

Honestly, the thing to remember is that the guys who are going to argue over astrology are the ones who have been rejected too many times. Don’t take what they say to heart. You don’t have to believe in astrology to see one pattern in the stars: men who try to start conflict over constellations probably won’t respect you anyway.