Ambivalent Sexism and Relationship Patterns among Women and Men in Ukraine

The present study was designed to examine the ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women and men in a sample of Ukrainian college students and young professionals. Findings support previous theoretical assertions that in reaction to current trends toward cultural remasculinization, Eastern European women may hold attitudes similar to women in other cultures marked by gender inequality (Glick & Fiske, 2001). As predicted, Ukrainian women were found to hold stronger benevolent sexist attitudes about their own gender roles and more hostile attitudes toward men than were their male counterparts. In addition, benevolent and hostile attitudes about the genders held by both women and men were related to negative relationship attitudes such as fear of intimacy, and anxious or avoidant attachments for both genders.     

ATTITUDES TOWARD WOMEN MEDIATE THE GENDER EFFECT ON ATTITUDES TOWARD SEXIST LANGUAGE

Studies of attitudes toward sexist language have consistently revealed a gender gap, with women considerably more supportive of inclusive language than men. The present study investigated this gender gap in the presence of "attitudes toward women," a potential mediator variable. Participants were a convenience sample of 18- to 20-year-old college students ( N = 278). Most were European American/White (87%) women (60%). Data were collected using the Modern Sexism Scale, Neosexism Scale, Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and Inventory of Attitudes Toward Sexist/Nonsexist Language-General. The customary gender gap in attitudes toward sexist language was found in this sample. Regression tests of mediation, however, revealed that when measures of attitudes toward women were included in the analysis, the gender effect diminished by as much as 61% ( p <.01). These findings provide empirical evidence of a link between attitudes toward sexist language and the cultural construct, attitudes toward women.     

Sexism, Vocational Goals, and Motivation as Predictors of Men’s and Women’s Career Choice

In the present study we analyzed the impact of vocational goals, sexist attitudes toward women, and motivation on career choice, in a sample of 448 Spanish college students (65.2% women and 34.1% men). Although we found some similarities between men and women in terms of their motivational orientations (extrinsic vs. intrinsic) and vocational goals, men’s extrinsic motivations appear to differ depending on the college major. We also found differences in sexist attitudes toward women by gender and chosen major: both male and female students enrolled in technical majors reported the most sexist attitudes (both hostile and benevolent). These findings underline the importance of taking sexist attitudes toward women into account in attempts to explain gender differences in career choice, something which has been largely overlooked in the research to date.     

A Note on Family Acceptance Involving Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships

Perceptions of family acceptance concerning interracial friendships and romantic relationships were investigated in a group of 142 undergraduates. The Assessment Scale of Interracial Relationships (ASIR) was constructed by the authors and administered to 68 men and 74 women recruited from introductory psychology courses. Results showed that both men and women held negative attitudes toward interracial relationships, although Black students held more favorable attitudes than did White students. These findings also showed that the women were less accepting of interracial friendships and romantic relationships than the men were. Both Black and White students indicated that family perception of these interracial relationships would be negative.     

The Enjoyment of Sexist Humor,Rape Attitudes,and Relationship Aggression in College Students

The current study tested Freud's (1905/1960)theory that sexist humor may be associated withhostility toward women and extended previous researchshowing a link between hostile humor and aggression.Colleges students (N = 399 — approximately 92%white, 5% African American, and 3% other minorities)rated 10 sexist jokes on their perceived funniness.Results showed that the enjoyment of sexist humor waspositively correlated with rape-related attitudes andbeliefs, the self-reported likelihood of forcing sex,and psychological, physical, and sexual aggression inmen. For women, the enjoyment of sexist humor was only positively correlated with Adversarial SexualBeliefs and Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence. Womenalso found the jokes to be less enjoyable, lessacceptable, and more offensive than the men, but they were not significantly less likely to tell thejokes.     

Perceptions of the Woman Who Breastfeeds: The Role of Erotophobia,Sexism, and Attitudinal Variables

Perceptions of breastfeeding women were studied in a sample of 201 predominately European American college students. Both men and women had very positive perceptions of breastfeeding women as compared to bottlefeeding women. As predicted, erotophobic women and men had less favorable impressions of the breastfeeding woman than did erotophilic individuals. Men, but not women, who scored high on Glick and Fiske's Benevolent Sexism or Hostile Sexism scales (Glick & Fiske, 1996) had more favorable impressions of the breastfeeding woman than did those with low scores. As predicted, this effect was larger for Benevolent Sexism than for Hostile Sexism. No relationships were found between impressions of breastfeeding women and the Hostility Toward Women Scale (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1995) or the Trait Guilt and Moral Standards scales (Jones, Schratter, & Kugler, 2000). The results supported hypotheses that sexualization of the breast, discomfort with sexual stimuli, and sexist attitudes are related to perceptions of the breastfeeding woman.     

An Examination of Daily Experiences of Sexism and Reactivity among Women in U.S. Male-Dominated Academic Majors Using Experience Sampling Methodology

Retrospective surveys and qualitative research have found that women in male-dominated majors (MDMs) commonly experience sexism during college, but less research has been devoted to better understand the daily experiences of sexism and attitudinal reactivity—defined as the likelihood that an individual’s attitudes will change as a result of sexism. This study utilized experience sampling methodology, which involves participants reporting current experiences multiple times per day, to better understand the unique daily experiences of sexism and reactivity among women in MDMs compared to both men in MDMs and women in gender-neutral majors (GNMs). For 2 weeks, four times a day, 120 U.S. college students (40 women in MDMs, 40 men in MDMs, 40 women in GNMs) were signaled to report sexist events that occurred in the last hour, current attitudes toward fit with their major, and academic motivation. Although a majority experienced at least one sexist event during the 2 weeks, results indicated that, unexpectedly, women in MDMs did not experience more sexist events around the time they attended a major class compared to the control groups. Women in MDMs, however, were more reactive to sexism. During the same hour they reported sexism, women in MDMs (unlike students in control groups) reported lower attitudes toward fit with their major. Results suggest that interventions should focus on creating contextual resources that may help women in MDMs cope with sexism.

     

Gender Bias and Pluralistic Ignorance in Perceptions of Fitness Assessments

Two studies examined the relationship between cadets' views toward women, specifically, attitudes about fitness testing at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). Cadets completed measures of views toward women in society, in the military, at USAFA, and fitness testing. Results revealed that many male cadets held sexist attitudes of women in all categories. Cadets who held egalitarian views of women in society and in the military were more likely to support equitable fitness standards. Furthermore, cadets' personal viewpoints differed from their perception of the entire cadet population viewpoint, creating an environment of pluralistic ignorance. That is, cadets believed the collective was more sexist than themselves, suggesting that a vocal minority who perpetuate sexist attitudes may hinder changes in culture.     

Ambivalence Toward Men: Comparing Sexism Among Polish, South African and British University Students

This study extends the literature on attitudes toward gender roles by exploring whether the nature of sexism (i.e., benevolence and hostility directed at men) differs among university students from two under-researched countries, Poland (n?=?190) and South Africa (n?=?188), in a comparison with students in the United Kingdom (n?=?166). Based on empirical literature applying Ambivalent Sexism Theory, and in the light of the socio-political context, it was hypothesized that: (1) both hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men in Poland would be more liberal than in South Africa and more conservative than in the United Kingdom, and (2), women would exhibit more hostile but less benevolent attitudes than men in relatively more conservative South Africa. The Ambivalence to Men Inventory was used to measure the two types of sexist attitudes about men. Findings supported the first hypothesis for hostile attitudes and partially for benevolent attitudes. South African and Polish students were more benevolent and hostile to men than British students, and students from South Africa were more hostile than those from Poland. Moreover, as predicted, a significant country-by-gender interaction revealed that South African women had more hostile and less benevolent attitudes to men than South African men. No such gender gap was present in the case of hostile attitudes in Poland and benevolent attitudes in the United Kingdom. Findings are discussed in terms of Ambivalent Sexism Theory and the countries’ socio-cultural context.     

“Blessed Is He Who Has Not Made Me a Woman”: Ambivalent Sexism and Jewish Religiosity

This study explored the relationships between Jewish religiosity and ambivalent sexist attitudes toward men and women. Drawing on ambivalent sexism theory and Judaism’s views of gender relations, it was hypothesized that religiosity would be positively related to benevolent sexism and benevolent attitudes toward men. The hypotheses were tested in a convenience sample of 854 Israeli Jews (471 women, 355 men) who completed measures of ambivalent sexism, ambivalence toward men and religiosity. Controlling for the effects of age, education and marital status, religiosity predicted more benevolent sexist attitudes for both men and women. The findings also revealed negative associations between Jewish religiosity and hostile attitudes, mainly among men. That is, more religious men were less likely to express hostile attitudes toward men and women. These findings attest to the complex relationships between religiosity and sexist attitudes, and underscore the importance of investigating the impact of diverse religious traditions on gender attitudes.     

Sexism as a Predictor of Attitudes Toward Women in the Military and in Combat

This study examined four forms of sexist beliefs as predictors of attitudes toward women in the military and in combat. Survey data revealed that military-affiliated college students (n = 62) held more negative attitudes than civilian students (n = 254) toward women in combat, but the groups did not differ on attitudes toward women in the military. All forms of sexism contributed uniquely to the prediction of attitudes toward women in the military, and 3 forms were associated with approval of women in combat. Sexist beliefs mediated the relationship between military-affiliation status and approval of women in combat.     

Physical fitness, body image, and locus of control in college freshman men and women

This study examined the relations among physical fitness, body image, and locus of control. The Hall-Physical Fitness Test Profile, the Winstead and Cash Body Self-relations Questionnaire (BSRQ) and the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale were administered to 243 freshmen. Women were significantly more positive about their physical appearance than men. Men were more positive about their physical fitness than women. Men were more physically fit than women. Men and women scoring in the internal direction viewed the physical fitness domain of their body image positively. Unlike men, internally oriented women had more positive perceptions of the health aspect of their body image. Physically fit men and women had positive attitudes toward the physical fitness component of their body image. Physically fit men differed from physically fit women in that men were more internal and held more positive attitudes toward the physical health dimension of their body images.     

Education and Catholic Religiosity as Predictors of Hostile and Benevolent Sexism Toward Women and Men

The relationships of education and religiosity to hostile and benevolently sexist attitudes toward women and men, as assessed by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996) and the Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (AMI; Glick & Fiske, 1999), was explored in a random sample of 1,003 adults (508 women, 495 men) from Galicia, Spain. For both men and women (a) level of educational attainment negatively correlated with hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes, and (b) Catholic religiosity uniquely predicted more benevolent, but not more hostile, sexist attitudes. Although correlational, these data are consistent with the notion that active participation in the Catholic Church may reinforce benevolently sexist ideologies that legitimate gender inequality, whereas education may be effective in diminishing sexist beliefs.     

Ambivalent Sexism and the Dumb Blonde: Men's and Women's Reactions to Sexist Jokes

This article examines the relationship between gender, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism and reactions to a seemingly innocuous genre of sexist humor, the dumb blonde joke. After hearing an audiotaped conversation in which two students swapped dumb blonde jokes, participants high in hostile sexism rated the jokes as more amusing and less offensive than those low in hostile sexism. Among individuals low in hostile sexism, however, benevolent sexism interacted with gender. Specifically, men high in benevolent sexism found the jokes significantly more amusing and less offensive than either women in the same group or men low in both hostile and benevolent sexism. This study replicates and extends previous research examining the relationship between hostile sexism and the enjoyment of sexist humor, and underscores the possibility that benevolent sexism may represent qualitatively distinct attitudes for men and women.     

Sex-role typing as related to acceptance of self, acceptance of others, and discriminatory attitudes toward women

This study examines four hypotheses relating sex-role typing to self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and sexist attitudes toward women. University students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale, and the Macho Scale. Findings showed more self-acceptance than acceptance of others among masculine-typed subjects and more acceptance of others than self-acceptance among feminine-typed subjects. Feminine-typed males and masculine-type females showed least self-acceptance among the six groups, while androgynous subjects showed highest self-acceptance. Masculine-typed males were least accepting of others and scored highest in discriminatory attitudes toward women. Male subjects showed greater variability than did female subjects on all scales, and Bem's measure of sex-role typing proved a more efficient moderator of scores of males than of those of females. Additional personality and behavioral research with sex-role typing variables is proposed.     

Understanding Men’s Attitudes Toward Women in the Swedish Armed Forces

We examined attitudes toward women in the military in a random representative sample of 1,320 male officers from the Swedish Armed Forces. We expected age, education, rank, years of military service, sexist beliefs, and interpersonal contact to correlate with men’s attitudes toward women in the military. Correlational analyses indicated that individuals expressing more positive attitudes toward women in the military tended to be younger, more educated, and higher in rank, were less likely to endorse sexist ideologies, and had greater interpersonal contact with women in the military. Regression analyses showed that education, rank, sexism, and contact emerged as the best predictors of these attitudes. Further examination of the effects of contact on these attitudes indicated that the quality of the contact experience was uniquely important in understanding men’s attitudes toward women in the military. We discuss the implications of these findings for promoting greater acceptance of women in the military.     

Student Ratings of a Male and Female Professors’ Lecture on Sex Discrimination in the Workforce

Using an experimental design, male (n = 41) and female (n = 46) undergraduate students in the southeastern USA evaluated an identical written lecture by a male and female professor on pay disparities between men and women in the workforce suggesting sex discrimination. Regardless of the students’ sex, the male professor and his lecture was rated more positively and less sexist than the female professor. Moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that more traditional and gender stereotypical attitudes toward women in male students were related to greater sexism ratings of the female professor compared to the male professor whereas; no differences on ratings of sexism between the male and female professor were found for male students with more liberal attitudes.     

Do Middle-Class Students Perceive Poor Women and Poor Men Differently?

In this study, we examined attitudes toward poor women, stereotypes about them, attributions for their poverty, and whether these thoughts and feelings differ from those about poor men. In our Midwestern college students sample (n = 206), attitudes toward poor women were significantly more positive than attitudes toward poor men. In addition, stereotypes of poor women were both more positive and more consistent with gender stereotypes than were those of poor men. Participants endorsed internal attributions for the poverty of both women and men more strongly than external or cultural attributions. However, the content of these attributions was different for the two target groups. Poor women were held responsible for nontraditional familial and reproductive patterns, whereas poor men were held responsible for lack of initiative and self-improvement. For poor men, all types of attributions included references to ability or willingness to work. The three types of attributions were more conceptually distinct for poor women.     

Sports ideology,attitudes toward women,and anti-homosexual attitudes

The present work tests the associations of sports ideology with sexist and anti-homosexual attitudes in a sample of 304 college students. It was found that sports ideology is positively associated with sexist and anti-homosexual attitudes, but only among males. Among females only sexist attitudes were associated with negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians. Among males, the link of sports ideology to anti-homosexual attitudes was independent of sexist beliefs. Reciprocal causal influences between sexist attitudes and sports ideology are discussed.