Men Don't Recognize 'Benevolent' Sexism: Study

[seabeyond]

On average, subjects recorded two derogatory terms, two sexist comments, 1.5 expressions of negative beliefs about women and 1.5 expressions of seemingly positive but in fact sexist thoughts about women each week. Swim recalled that one female participant reported a complete stranger had walked up to her in a laundromat and asked if she would fold his laundry because she'd be better at it. This kind of sexism is "ambiguous," Swim said, and "people don't know if they're kidding, so we discount them one after another." "If you document it and are confronted by a group of instances of sexism, then people start to see the unseen," she added.

The prevalence of sexism -- benevolent or hostile -- was not the study's primary focus, nor its major reveal. The more significant finding had to do with how men and women's beliefs about sexism changed after they became aware of its prevalence. In addition to asking participants to record instances of sexism, researchers also evaluated the degree to which subjects tolerated sexist behavior. Researchers found that after recording the sexist incidents they observed, women were more likely to deem the behavior less acceptable. Men, on the other hand, continued to endorse sexist behavior even after becoming more conscious of it. But when asked to empathize with the female targets of specific sexist incidents, male participants were less likely to sanction blatant sexism. In one example, men who were told to consider women's feelings were less likely to think women overreact when responding negatively to sexist behavior. When it came to instances of benevolent sexism, though, men's attitudes did not change. According to Swim, men did not consider statements including "a good woman should be put on a pedestal" or "in a disaster, women should be saved before men" to be sexist.

Becker and Swim's research provoked outrage in some quarters, aided by loaded headlines like this one in the UK's Daily Mail: "Men who hold open doors for women are SEXIST not chivalrous, feminists claim." Criticism focused on the researchers asking participants to identify seemingly well-intended male behavior as discriminatory. Anna Rittgers, a blogger for the conservative Independent Women's Forum, wrote that she first thought the study was a hoax and that she was "beginning to suspect that the modern feminist movement is actually comprised of a bunch of honest-to-goodness misogynists whose goal is to make women look ridiculous." The Irish blog Joe.ie It's Man Stuff sardonically wrote, "Great work ladies, we'll be sure to get you both a beer in recognition of your service if you ever pop over to Dublin. You'll have to pay for it though, obviously." And blogger Mockarena, co-founder of the Chicks on the Right blog, wrote, "I don't know about you all, but it is VERY HARMFUL TO ME when my husband insists on driving during long road trips. I am TOTALLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY DAMAGED when he tells me he can't live without me. And I feel deeply discriminated against when he has the AUDACITY to fix the brakes on my car."

Glick, co-author of the original study on benevolent sexism, said he worries that benevolent sexism has become a caricature to the media and public. "We don't think that men should no longer be polite," he said. "Often chivalrous behavior is appropriate. It is just important to know when you are crossing the line." "Women themselves ignore [all types of] sexism, and part of it is a coping mechanism," Swim said. "You want to live your life." But ignoring sexism has consequences, she said. Often the acceptance of subtler forms of sexism can lead to the acceptance of broader forms of gender discrimination. According to Glick, benevolent sexism can often unintentionally become hostile sexism when a woman breaks out of her assumed role. He used the workplace as an example. If a man offers to help a female coworker set up an office computer, Glick said, and she accepts, she is perceived as warm, but lacking a level of competence. If she politely refuses, however, she is often viewed as a "bitch." Men who accept help are also seen as vulnerable, Glick said, but they do not suffer the same repercussions for trying to do things on their own.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/27/men-dont-recognize-benevolent-sexism_n_885430.html


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i was reading an interesting article on different neurology of the brain. i wish i could find it again. and article pulled my attention. men do objects in space better and women communication and language. but the end of the sentence raised my eyebrow. men reads maps better and women talk too much.

i asked my aware 16 yr old son to read and if anything caught his attention. so he started discussing what was said int he paragraph and beyond that paragraph. not a thought to the different language where we excel. reading maps better, positive. talking to much, negative. he was amazed he had overlooked that.