Sexism was a belief that one gender was superior or inferior to another. Sexism could be an individual attitude or cultural dogma shared by an entire society. A society that was dominated by females was called a matriarchal society, and a patriarchical society if dominated by males. Misogyny was a form of sexism defined as hate against females, and was prevalent in some species including the Ferengi.
In 2267, following Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott's injury that resulted from an explosion that threw him against a bulkhead that was caused by a woman. Doctor Leonard McCoy explained that while Scott's physical damage was repaired, there was still the possibility of "considerable psychological damage", such as "total resentment toward women." This was seemingly "cured" by a visit to Argelius, but was later brought back into question after Scott allegedly murdered the Argelian woman, Kara. It was later determined not to be Scott, first in part, when Sybo sensed an intense "hatred of women," that was determined to have originated from the cloud creature Redjac, who had possessed Scott during that and the subsequent murders of Sybo, herself, and Karen Tracy. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold")
According to James T. Kirk, Janice Lester possessed an internalized misogyny that included an "intense hatred of her own womanhood" which, when they dated, "made life with her impossible." Year later, Kirk came to the realization that "Janice has driven herself mad with jealousy, hatred and ambition," while Lester herself felt that being a woman was an "indignity" and that "it's better to be dead than to live alone in the body of a woman." (TOS: "Turnabout Intruder")
Doctor Ira Graves displayed a degree of sexism in his remarks aimed at the objectification of women, which were probably intended to be old man charm. Upon the arrival of the USS Enterprise-D to Gravesworld in 2365, Dr. Selar began her medical scans, prompting him to warn that "[i]t's no secret that I don't like people much, and I like doctors even less," later adding "[a]lthough I will admit, for a doctor you're not a bad looking woman." During the same exchange, Deanna Troi, who also caught Graves attention, prompting him to divulge in another line of banter about her too, stating, "Well, well, well, what have we got here? Another lovely specimen of womanhood." When Troi reminded him of his mantra about not liking people, he replied, "[w]omen aren't people, they're women," before kissing her hand. (TNG: "The Schizoid Man")
In 2370, William T. Riker teased Worf for his "incredibly outmoded and sexist attitude" after the Klingon remarked that his dress uniform looked ridiculous, as it resembled a dress. He added that Worf looked good in a dress. (TNG: "Liaisons")
Later the same year, while Jadzia Dax discussed with Kira Nerys her observations in the Ferengi culture, Dax admitted that "their behavior toward women is somewhat primitive," which Nerys concurred, opining that they were "misogynistic" and that "I wouldn't turn my back on one of them for a second." While she ultimately agreed with Nerys' assessment, Dax, however concluded that, "once you accept that, you'll find they can be a lot of fun." (DS9: "Rules of Acquisition")
In his AOL chats with fans, Ronald D. Moore discussed the implications of the prevalence of male dominated and sexist cultures in Star Trek a number of times. On one occasion, he gave the Ferengi and Cardassians as examples of such cultures. (AOL chat, 1997)