One of Jadeite's favorite statements in the anime is "foolish humans". He also has a very condescending way of speaking to the Sailor Senshi, and opposite to many other villains it's not mostly because they're on the good side, but because they are young... and female.
Yes, Jadeite has a rotten attitude towards women, the only one he treats with respect being Queen Beryl. I think that's because he sees her more as a personification of power then an actual woman (plus she'd kill him if he got out of line)
Add to this his derogatory comments about mankind and his haughty ways, I think it's pretty clear to say that Jadeite can be seen as both a racist and a misogynist; in fact, I think he most definitely is.
Why?
First, lets compare Jadeite to the other kings.
Nephrite has a serious problem with being truthful, and holds low or no respect for authority. But, that deep hatred for humans isn't as apparent, so either his feelings on the subject are milder or he's just very good at controlling his emotions and posture. His behavior in other areas, especially his open dislike of Zoisite, suggest that this is not the fact, and the way he interacts with selected persons also suggests he, generally speaking, doesn't hate or doesn't care as much about humans as Jadeite do.
This by no means indicates that he likes them; if anything, Nephrite seems to dislike everyone (except Naru and his stars)
Zoisite is an obsessive person. He is deeply in love with Kunzite, and measures everything against his dear mentor and lover. While he can certainly hate individuals with fierce passion, he shows no special dislike for humanity as a whole, not more then someone who is preparing to take over the world is supposed to at least. Zoisite is a creature of passion, and I think that truly hating something as impersonal as the mass of people that we humans are is very hard for him.
Lastly, there's Kunzite. Silent, brooding Kunzite the Ice King, who has been accused of being a pervert by the Sailor Senshi and appreciates both beautiful men and women, even if he only loves Zoisite. He doesn't seem to hate humans; in fact, he seems quite amused by their ways, in an arrogant way.
When Kunzite actually lets an emotion glimpse through his shell, we see that he feels very strongly, even if he hides it well.
For instance, we are shown that Kunzite despises light. In both the manga and anime he appears to take great pleasure when making Tokyo go dark, one of the few times he shows something near passion. He also hates Sailor Moon fervently, she and Endymion are one of the few things that can make him upset.
But he doesn't see her as an inferior being only because she's a human girl; no, Kunzite sees her as an inferior being because she's weak, and strength is all that matters to the fourth King. Well, except in the case of Zoisite.
Jadeite on the other hand likes to gloat about the inborn stupidity in humans, and takes a wicked delight in the fact that he's hurting them (episode 9, the clock shop). The way he plays with the Sailor Senshi during their last fight also shows deeply rooted anger and dislike.
Basically, Jadeite thinks women are weak because they're women. He also thinks humans are worthless for the simple reason that they are humans. No one else in the Dark Kingdom seems to share this particular view of matters, at least not so openly and strongly.
And yet, he and the other Kings serve under a female ruler, and all look very humanlike in appearance.
As I wrote above, I seriously doubt that Jadeite actively thinks of Beryl as a woman. She's the Queen of the Dark Kingdom; the boss, the ultimate authority, and that's it.
His hatred for humanity is a bit harder to explain. First of all, it indicates that whatever the Kings are, one of them doesn't consider himself human, or he would call himself a fool.
Nephrite's green blood is of course also a clear indicator of this, but since Zoisite's blood is red... Can you say confusing messages?
Here's what I think: They started out as humans, long ago during the Silver Millenium (1) After converting to the side of evil, the kings as well as Beryl slowly began to change. Being the first who converted, it's natural that Beryl is the one who has gone farthest. Her appearance by the time of the show decidedly monstrous, and while her personality appears to be more or less the same as before, she has lost any and all compassion she ever had and a great deal of common sense.
After that comes Kunzite, Nephrite and Jadeite, in unknown order, and lastly we have Zoisite. He's still in training, meaning he can't have been there as long as the other, and his blood is still red.
There's another difference to consider. Temperament.
Kunzite, who on the surface is the one who looks least 'normal' (tell me, how many silver-haired men with dark skin do you know?) also has highest rang, and is the coldest one.
He can't even admit that his long time lover means something to him when said lover dies, no, he just apologizes for not training him properly.
Yes, Kunzite hurts after losing Zoisite, I don't think anyone can argue against that. But still, he continues as ordered, showing little or no remorse. Maybe he just can't?
I think it's entirely possible that he has lost too much humanity to show his love as anything but anger at those who took Zoisite away, and the occasional pained look. This doesn't mean he can't feel anything at all, that he does, but he can't express his feelings and doesn't seem aware of them.
I don't know if Jadeite or Nephrite came second. While Nephrite arguably shows more emotions, very few of those are positive, and anger seems quite common in the Dark Kingdom, I still have a faint belief that he came first. The reason has mostly to do with Jadeite's hate of humankind.
Now, broadly speaking, people hate that which they see as dangerous, meaning the different and unknown, or that which reminds them of themselves (often things they'd like to forget) One always uses oneself when judging others; if I'm a nasty character, why shouldn't everyone else be that too?
And while humans might not have magic, and are generally a bit nicer, we aren't that different from the people of the Dark Kingdom. We bicker, we feel jealousy, and we love. Just like the four kings.
My belief is that Jadeite hates the human within himself. Kunzite has come so far from what he once was that he isn't afraid of his feelings (he might not even be able to feel real fear anymore) and his humanity, because it's mostly gone.
Nephrite can accept what he is and, more importantly, what he was because he too has distanced himself from it, and the few feelings he has are well hidden. Yet, they did manage to come forth in the end, which is why I think he came after Kunzite, but it took a near death situation and Metallia had also begun to loose influence over him.
Then there's pretty Zoisite. He is young, both in years and as a servant of Metallia, hot-blooded, passionate... basically, he's still human even if has magic.
But Jadeite stands between humanity and whatever they become (demons? Evil half-gods?) and that's why he hates mankind so much; he refuses to be one of them and the fact that he still is, partly, makes him even more angry and scornful.
This might also be the reason that he strives so hard to show no emotions. In an attempt to get rid of the last traces of that which makes him human, he becomes even colder and more ruthless then Kunzite... but he still gets upset when things don't go his way, and if you look at his actions, I think it's obvious that he is actively repressing a lot of frustration.
Kunzite just doesn't feel anything, unless it's a very extreme situation, and while Nephrite gets grouchy and angry, it's mostly at Zoisite. There are few times he curses the Sailor Senshi for their interference in such an obvious way that Jadeite does.
And if you wonder how come they haven't changed (physically) since the assault on the moon, my answer is that it might be because Metallia was locked away and therefore her influx wasn't nearly as strong as while she was free.
And, even thought we know the Silver Millenium ended pretty quickly, we don't know the exact dates. From the time that Beryl acquired her first king to the last fight, it's not unlikely that several years passed, giving ample time to let the changes take place.
When Queen Serenity sealed them away she left one completely remade, two more or less changed, and a third just in the beginning of the process. (2)
Might explain while all four kings seem to have not-so-slight psychological problems; going through something like this can't be easy.
Well, that' my little theory on why Jadeite dislikes us foolish humans so ^_^ Feel free to remark something and argue it; I'd be more then happy to post your comments here as long as they stay reasonably polite!
And do remember, this is a theory, nothing more.
(1) Since this is mostly an anime essay, let us ignore the question about them being Endymion's guardians or not.
(2) So, you might ask, where does Jadeite's dislike of women come from? Beats me
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon © of Naoko Takeuchi.