Week 5 - Sexism and Discrimination Flashcards
Power
The capacity to determine the outcomes of one’s own as well as of others.
Structural Power
Shapes how society operates, and determines which groups of people have (or lack) access to resources, education, autonomy, etc.
Dyadic Power
The capacity to choose intimate relationships and partners and to control the interactions and decisions in the relationship.
Which type of power do men and women have?
Men have structural power, while women sometimes have dyadic power.
Sex Ratio Theory
The ratio of men and women in a given environment influences the dyadic power the sexes hold.
How do dyadic power and intersectionality relate in women?
Women’s ability to have their own dyadic power depend on ethnicity, age, income, and education level (Wingood and Diclemente, 2000).
Lower status and vulnerable women are at risk when men outnumber them (Samal, 2016).
Ways to Exert Power (Pratto and Walker, 2004):
- Force
- Resource Control
- Cultural Ideologies
Force
Capacity to inflict physical and/or psychological harm.
Resource Control
Controlling the creation and distribution of essential and desirable goods.
Cultural Ideologies
Sets of beliefs and assumptions about groups that explain and justify unequal social hierarchies.
Types of Cultural Ideologies
Androcentrism: Defines men and their experiences as universal.
Ethnocentrism: Tendency to view one’s own experience as universal.
Heterocentrism: Assumption that hetersexuality is the norm.
Five Global Inequities Covid-19 has Highlighted
- Access to healthcare
- Access to green space
- Access to the internet
- Ability to work remotely
- Accessibility
How do stereotypes legitimize power held by men and ethic dominants?
People tend to justify and normalize their power, while privilege is not acknowledged.
Described as “ambitious” instead of “controlling” or “greedy”.
Exempts them from obligations.
(Pratto and Pitpitan, 2008)
Double Jeopardy Hypothesis
Individuals who belong to two or more subordinate groups will experience more discrimination that those who only belong to one subordinate group.
Intersectional Invisibility Hypothesis
Experiences of people with multiple subordinate identities are sometimes disregarded, while experiences of those with dominant identities are seen as the cultural norm, or prototype.
Ambivalent Sexism
Characterizes the relations of women and men across time and cultures (Glick and Fiske, 2001).
Two types: Hostile and Benevolent Sexism
Hostile Sexism
Portrays women as inferior to men, justifying men’s dominance. Antagonistic and derogatory beliefs.
Benevolent Sexism
“Positive” beliefs characterizing women are pure, and in need of protection. Patronizing behaviour, usually unrecognized as gender bias.
What are some misperceptions of benevolent sexism?
Women are less likely to protest or discuss this sexism due to perceived warmth.
Men who endorse benevolent sexism are less likely to endorse gender inequality. (Hopkins-Doyle, 2018)
How is benevolent sexism harmful?
Creates a pacifying effect on women, suppressing their motivations to fight back to sexism.
Less sympathy for female survivors of abuse.
Perpetuation of rape culture.
Sexual Objectification
Reduces women or girls to “objects”, subjecting them to abuse, and reduced them to their sexual attributes.
Self-Objectification
Internalizing and fixating on a perspective of oneself dominated by looks, treating oneself as a sexual object.
When do women engage in higher levels of self-objectification?
When exposed to higher levels of benevolent sexist stereotypes.
Objectification Theory Model
- Cultural Climate of Sexual Objectification
- Internalized Objectification
- Psychological Consequences
- Mental Health Risks
