Modern feminists are often dismissed by remarking that by law, we are all equal now and thus there is no need for feminism anymore. And while open discrimination and prejudice against women has decreased immensely in the last 50 years ever since discriminatory laws have been changed, research on gender discrimination has uncovered a different trend. Sexism is not defeated but has rather taken on a different form: Benevolent Sexism.
Modern feminists are often dismissed by remarking that by law, we are all equal now and thus there is no need for feminism anymore. And while open discrimination and prejudice against women has decreased immensely in the last 50 years ever since discriminatory laws have been changed, research on gender discrimination has uncovered a different trend. Sexism is not defeated but has rather taken on a different form: Benevolent Sexism.
Photo by Amandine BATAILLE on Unsplash
Photo by Amandine BATAILLE on Unsplash
People who have been dating for a while know how nice it feels to be charmed. Your newest flame may hold the door for you, bring you flowers or invite you out for dinner. But women, watch out! While sometimes these courtesies are just that – a nice gesture – the assumptions behind them can also serve to hold women down and undermine real social change. So let’s talk about a new-found form of sexism, the one that manifests as seemingly positive attitudes about women that in fact perpetuate sexist views by reinforcing their subordinate position (Gomes et al., 2022).
The theory of ambivalent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996, 1999, 2001) differentiates between blatant hostile sexism and more subtle benevolent sexism. Hostile sexism includes dominative paternalism, derogatory beliefs and heterosexual hostility, while “benevolent sexism” includes these three assumptions:
- Protective Paternalism: the belief that women need the assistance, care and protection from men. This can manifest in mansplaining, the need to “treat my girlfriend like my little princess” or simply men being the provider and paying for everything.
- Gender Differentiation: the belief that women and men complement each other in their different roles. According to this idea, women are seen as inherently caring and warm. This just makes them “a better fit” to do jobs such as being a nurse or caring for children, tasks which men are “by nature not made for”.
- Heterosexual Intimacy: the belief that sexual relations with women are necessary; women should be adored and cherished by men. This can shift the focus on to the physical appearance of women and perpetuate the idea that men have to take all the initiative in dating. After all, the saying “there is nobody nicer than the guy who hasn’t had sex with you yet” doesn’t come from nowhere.
These views of women don’t necessarily have negative depictions and may also be seen as flattering and desirable by women themselves. However, this exact feature is what makes benevolent sexism that much more dangerous than hostile sexism: While hostile sexism can be and usually is being called out nowadays, benevolent sexist views are still very much present in most societies (Glick et al., 2000) and are endorsed and wanted by women themselves without acknowledging them. How often have you heard from female friends “if he doesn’t pay on the first date, there will not be a second one” or “men just don’t know how to treat a woman right anymore”?
“After all, the saying 'there is nobody nicer than the guy who hasn’t had sex with you yet' doesn’t come from nowhere.”
Hostile and benevolent sexism are also highly correlated (Glick & Fiske, 2001), suggesting that they work together to reward women who adopt traditional, subordinate roles (as supported by benevolent sexism) while at the same time punishing those who resist them, the “abnormal” women with stereotypical masculine traits and behavior. This connection is further strengthened by findings that benevolent sexism predicts both victim-blaming after a rape and excusing domestic violence (Chapleau et al., 2007). After all, men will be men and the woman was basically asking for it with that outfit, right? Women who believe that benevolent views are endorsed in their society have also been found to emphasize their physical attractiveness more and de-emphasize their competence or academic achievement (Shepherd et al., 2011). This behavior consequently undermines women’s performance and further perpetuates the image of women as nothing more than a sexual object that needs to be wanted, conquered and protected.
Another example of how benevolent sexism affects women is the so-called ‘Queen Bee Phenomenon’. This is based on the finding that women who succeed in male-dominated areas actually discriminate more against other women than men do and thereby legitimize gender inequality themselves. Older women in these areas of work tend to rate themselves higher on stereotypically masculine traits than younger women and they tend to judge the younger women more harshly than their male colleagues do (Derks et al., 2016). Because women are in this environment that devalues femininity, their self-esteem is threatened (Derks et al., 2011). They learn to suppress the feminine parts of themselves and distance themselves from their own “group”, namely other women, as an adaptation to this masculine environment. It is especially concerning that recent studies confirm that this effect can also be found in current generations that have been thought to be more emancipated than older generations (Flaniko et al., 2020).
“They learn to suppress the feminine parts of themselves and distance themselves from their own 'group', namely other women, as an adaptation to this masculine environment.”
All this research comes together to show that classic patriarchy has simply been replaced by a more subtle form of discrimination. Instead of the clear male domination that was present in earlier times, women are now being pushed into fulfilling a certain role in society. As long as they meet these expectations all is good and well but when they dare to be different and not comply with their role, society feels the need to discriminate and punish them. The first step in the right direction is being made: Slowly but surely, more and more people are being aware of the issue of this new form of sexism. Now men as well as women have to reflect which attitudes towards women they have been taught by society and how that fits with our aspired goal of equality. Let’s start holding others and ourselves accountable for our implicitly sexist behaviors. Now, does that mean every nice gesture and chivalry overall is bad and should be condemned? Of course not. Everyone can appreciate considerate gestures and kindness from others, but we should still watch out that they are simply that – expressions of affection from one human to another. <<
References
– Chapleau, K. M., Oswald, D. L., & Russell, B. L. (2007). How ambivalent sexism toward women and men support rape myth acceptance. Sex Roles, 57, 131-136.
– Derks, B., Ellemers, N., Van Laar, C., & De Groot, K. (2011). Do sexist organizational cultures create the Queen Bee?. British Journal of Social Psychology, 50(3), 519-535.
– Derks, B., Van Laar, C., & Ellemers, N. (2016). The queen bee phenomenon: Why women leaders distance themselves from junior women. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(3), 456-469.
– Faniko, K., Ellemers, N., & Derks, B. (2021). The Queen Bee phenomenon in Academia 15 years after: Does it still exist, and if so, why?. British Journal of Social Psychology, 60(2), 383-399.
– Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1997). Hostile and benevolent sexism: Measuring ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women. Psychology of women quarterly, 21(1), 119-135.
– Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American psychologist, 56(2), 109.
– Glick, P., Fiske, S. T., Mladinic, A., Saiz, J. L., Abrams, D., Masser, B., … & López, W. L. (2000). Beyond prejudice as simple antipathy: hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures. Journal of personality and social psychology, 79(5), 763.
– Gomes, A., Gonçalves, G., Sousa, C., Santos, J., & Giger, J. C. (2022). Are we getting less sexist? A ten-year gap comparison analysis of sexism in a Portuguese sample. Psychological Reports, 125(4), 2160-2177.
– Shepherd, M., Erchull, M. J., Rosner, A., Taubenberger, L., Forsyth Queen, E., & McKee, J. (2011). “I’ll get that for you”: The relationship between benevolent sexism and body self-perceptions. Sex Roles, 64, 1-8.
People who have been dating for a while know how nice it feels to be charmed. Your newest flame may hold the door for you, bring you flowers or invite you out for dinner. But women, watch out! While sometimes these courtesies are just that – a nice gesture – the assumptions behind them can also serve to hold women down and undermine real social change. So let’s talk about a new-found form of sexism, the one that manifests as seemingly positive attitudes about women that in fact perpetuate sexist views by reinforcing their subordinate position (Gomes et al., 2022).
The theory of ambivalent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996, 1999, 2001) differentiates between blatant hostile sexism and more subtle benevolent sexism. Hostile sexism includes dominative paternalism, derogatory beliefs and heterosexual hostility, while “benevolent sexism” includes these three assumptions:
- Protective Paternalism: the belief that women need the assistance, care and protection from men. This can manifest in mansplaining, the need to “treat my girlfriend like my little princess” or simply men being the provider and paying for everything.
- Gender Differentiation: the belief that women and men complement each other in their different roles. According to this idea, women are seen as inherently caring and warm. This just makes them “a better fit” to do jobs such as being a nurse or caring for children, tasks which men are “by nature not made for”.
- Heterosexual Intimacy: the belief that sexual relations with women are necessary; women should be adored and cherished by men. This can shift the focus on to the physical appearance of women and perpetuate the idea that men have to take all the initiative in dating. After all, the saying “there is nobody nicer than the guy who hasn’t had sex with you yet” doesn’t come from nowhere.
These views of women don’t necessarily have negative depictions and may also be seen as flattering and desirable by women themselves. However, this exact feature is what makes benevolent sexism that much more dangerous than hostile sexism: While hostile sexism can be and usually is being called out nowadays, benevolent sexist views are still very much present in most societies (Glick et al., 2000) and are endorsed and wanted by women themselves without acknowledging them. How often have you heard from female friends “if he doesn’t pay on the first date, there will not be a second one” or “men just don’t know how to treat a woman right anymore”?
“After all, the saying 'there is nobody nicer than the guy who hasn’t had sex with you yet' doesn’t come from nowhere.”
Hostile and benevolent sexism are also highly correlated (Glick & Fiske, 2001), suggesting that they work together to reward women who adopt traditional, subordinate roles (as supported by benevolent sexism) while at the same time punishing those who resist them, the “abnormal” women with stereotypical masculine traits and behavior. This connection is further strengthened by findings that benevolent sexism predicts both victim-blaming after a rape and excusing domestic violence (Chapleau et al., 2007). After all, men will be men and the woman was basically asking for it with that outfit, right? Women who believe that benevolent views are endorsed in their society have also been found to emphasize their physical attractiveness more and de-emphasize their competence or academic achievement (Shepherd et al., 2011). This behavior consequently undermines women’s performance and further perpetuates the image of women as nothing more than a sexual object that needs to be wanted, conquered and protected.
Another example of how benevolent sexism affects women is the so-called ‘Queen Bee Phenomenon’. This is based on the finding that women who succeed in male-dominated areas actually discriminate more against other women than men do and thereby legitimize gender inequality themselves. Older women in these areas of work tend to rate themselves higher on stereotypically masculine traits than younger women and they tend to judge the younger women more harshly than their male colleagues do (Derks et al., 2016). Because women are in this environment that devalues femininity, their self-esteem is threatened (Derks et al., 2011). They learn to suppress the feminine parts of themselves and distance themselves from their own “group”, namely other women, as an adaptation to this masculine environment. It is especially concerning that recent studies confirm that this effect can also be found in current generations that have been thought to be more emancipated than older generations (Flaniko et al., 2020).
“They learn to suppress the feminine parts of themselves and distance themselves from their own 'group', namely other women, as an adaptation to this masculine environment.”
All this research comes together to show that classic patriarchy has simply been replaced by a more subtle form of discrimination. Instead of the clear male domination that was present in earlier times, women are now being pushed into fulfilling a certain role in society. As long as they meet these expectations all is good and well but when they dare to be different and not comply with their role, society feels the need to discriminate and punish them. The first step in the right direction is being made: Slowly but surely, more and more people are being aware of the issue of this new form of sexism. Now men as well as women have to reflect which attitudes towards women they have been taught by society and how that fits with our aspired goal of equality. Let’s start holding others and ourselves accountable for our implicitly sexist behaviors. Now, does that mean every nice gesture and chivalry overall is bad and should be condemned? Of course not. Everyone can appreciate considerate gestures and kindness from others, but we should still watch out that they are simply that – expressions of affection from one human to another. <<
