Lecture 14: Other Forms of Stigma l Flashcards
what makes sexism different from other forms of stigma?
- Men and women are generally differentiated in biology and strongly differentiated in social roles
- Relationships between men and women are complicated by sexual reproduction
- Women are not a numerical minority but are economically disadvantaged
female disadvantage can be understood using
Ambivalent sexism
Prescriptive gender norms
hostile sexism
Antagonistic negative attitudes toward women
example beliefs of hostile sexism
- Women are enemies
- Women seek to control men
- Women use sex to exploit men
- Women demand too much
hostile sexism scale
measures agreement towards
- Women seek to gain power by getting control over men
- Once a woman gets a man to commit to her, she usually tries to put him on a tight leash
- Many women are actually seeking special favours, such as hiring policies that favour them over men, under the guise of equality
- Most women fail to appreciate all that men do for them
benevolent sexism
Subjectively positive attitudes and beliefs about women that justify traditional gender roles
example beliefs of benevolent sexism
- Women are pure and good
- Women ought to be protected and cared for by men
- Women nurture children & men through adversity
benevolent sexism scale
measures agreement towards:
- Women should be cherished and protected by men
- Women should be placed on a pedestal
- Women, compared to men, tend to have a superior moral sensibility
- Men should be willing to sacrifice their own well-being to provide financially for the women in their lives
results of male-female/ good-bad IAT in adults
Both women and men showed pro-female attitudes on the IAT
results of male-female/ good-bad IAT in 4-year-olds
Girls showed pro-girl attitudes, but boys showed no reliable preference
why does benevolent prejudice matter?
Benevolent sexism’s underpinnings lie in stereotyping women as inferior
correlation between hostile & benevolent sexism
positively correlated r=.52
Women with stronger benevolent sexist beliefs
- Are less resistant to discrimination
- Have lower educational and career goals for themselves
- Take on more unpaid labour
UN unpair labour study
women take on 3 of every 4 hours of unpaid labour
how does benevolent sexism affect men?
Benevolent sexism allows men to characterize their privileges as deserved
why is benevolent prejudice difficult to change?
- They are superficially positive
- They are difficult to see
- Easy to be convinced that there is nothing to feel guilty about
ambivalent sexism
The combination of hostile and benevolent sexism
how does hostile sexism affect women
punishes women who challenge the status quo
how does benevolent sexism affect women
rewards women who embrace traditional gender roles
prescriptive gender norms
How people should behave
womens’ prescriptive gender norms
kindness, warmth, communality, selflessness
mens’ prescriptive gender norms
leadership, competence, and agency
value of masculine traits
Masculine traits & pursuits are more highly valued
impact of stereotypes on men-women dynamic
Stereotypes legitimize men’s greater status and power relative to women
Masculinity and Brilliance study: Leslie et al., 2015
Studied the association between gender disparities in Ph.D. students and the degree to which success in the field was supposed to rely on innate brilliance (strongly associated with men). Found that there were more men in fields associated with brilliance
backlash effects
Social and economic penalties for acting counter-stereotypically
stereotype content model of successful women
High competence-low warmth & are met with envy
double-jeopardy in female perception
- Warm women are seen as less capable, competent, and committed
- Competent women are seen as less likeable, more hostile, and less of a team player
sex
an organism’s biological status, typically categorized as male, female, or intersex
biological indicators
sex chromosomes, gonads, internal reproductive organs, external genitalia
gender
thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that a culture associates with masculinity & femininity
gender identity
a person’s sense of their gender
cisgender
a gender identity that corresponds with one’s birth sex
transgender
a gender identity that differs from one’s birth sex
non-binary
gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine
examples of non-binary identities
Multiple genders, no gender, fluctuating gender, other genders
who developed the trans youth project
Kristina Olson
trans youth project
The first lab that actively studies gender development in transgender children. Tracking socially-transitioning children longitudinally starting from 3-12 years old. Compared to siblings and unrelated children
do many transgender children change their minds?
Found that few transgender children change their minds after 5 years
transgender children and preferences study
Many studies from the lab found that transgender children express preferences consistent with their gender. There were no differences among transgender children based on how long they had been living as their current gender
takeaway from transgender children and preferences study
Children develop a sense of identity at an early age and that this identity isn’t necessarily determined by the sex assigned at birth, and that children may hold on to this identity even when it conflicts with others’ expectations
trans attitudes by state study axt et al., 2021
implicit and explicit anti-transgender attitudes were higher in states with more discriminatory laws
eligibility for trans youth project studies
child must live in a family where all other family members use pronouns for the child that do not align with the sex assigned at birth
Law, Policy and Support for LGBTQ+ Rights
individual attitudes, beliefs and perceived norms affect and are affected by law and policy
Tankard & Paluck, 2017
conducted 2 studies on the June 2015 Supreme Court case on same-sex marriages
Tankard & Paluck, 2017 study 1
told participants that a favourable ruling was likely. found:
- Increased perception of norms supporting same-sex marriage
- Increased support for same-sex marriage
Tankard & Paluck, 2017 study 2
tracked perceptions of norms and attitudes over time. found:
- Increased perception of the status quo for same-sex marriage after the ruling
- No immediate effect on individual support for same-sex marriage
same-sex marriage support legalization study Ofsou et al., 2019
States that passed same-sex marriage legalization experienced greater decreases in bias following legalization
same-sex marriage legalization and IAT study Charlesworth & Banaji, 2019
implicit anti-sexuality, age, and disability attitudes were reduced following same-sex marriage legalization
Selin Gulgoz
Lead author of a 2019 paper looking at the gender development of cisgender and transgender children
countries with high benevolent sexism
have more gender inequality
