Francisca Expósito

Beyond prejudice as simple antipathy: Hostile and benevolent sexism across cultures

The authors argue that complementary hostile and benevolent components of sexism exist across cultures. Male dominance creates hostile sexism (HS), but mens dependence on women fosters benevolent sexism (BS)--subjectively positive attitudes that put women on a pedestal but reinforce their subordination. Research with 15,000 men and women in 19 nations showed that (a) HS and BS are coherent constructs that correlate positively across nations, but (b) HS predicts the ascription of negative and BS the ascription of positive traits to women, (c) relative to men, women are more likely to reject HS than BS, especially when overall levels of sexism in a culture are high, and (d) national averages on BS and HS predict gender inequality across nations. These results challenge prevailing notions of prejudice as an antipathy in that BS (an affectionate, patronizing ideology) reflects inequality and is a cross-culturally pervasive complement to HS.

Sexismo ambivalente: medición y correlatos

ResumenEn los paises occidentales las formas tradicionales de sexismo son cada vez mas minoritarias, de manera que solo un sector muy reducido de la poblacion manifiesta una actitud basada en la supuesta inferioridad de las mujeres como grupo. Sin embargo, diversos indices sugieren que la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres dista mucho de ser una realidad. Esta situacion contradictoria ha llevado a formular la existencia de formas mas sutiles o encubiertas de sexismo. Segun Glick y Fiske (1996), el sexismo ambivalente conjuga las formas tradicionales con formas “benevolas”, que si bien tienen un componente afectivo y conductual positivo siguen considerando a la mujer de forma estereotipada y limitada a ciertos roles.En esta investigacion se presentan datos de 1110 varones, de diferentes edades, niveles educativos, estado civil, etc. que contestaron la version espanola del Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), asi como otras medidas de sexismo tradicional y de amenaza a los intereses de los varones. Los resultad...

It's for Your Own Good: Benevolent Sexism and Women's Reactions to Protectively Justified Restrictions

Three studies examined womens reactions to ostensibly protective restrictions. In Study 1, only benevolently sexist women accepted a protectively justified (hypothetical) prohibition against driving on a long trip, but only when imposed by a husband (not a coworker). In Study 2, when womens actual romantic partners opposed their participation in a practicum counseling dangerous men, most reacted positively to a personalized protective justification (“I am concerned for your safety”), but only benevolently sexist women reacted positively when no justification was given. In Study 3, only benevolently sexist women accepted an explicitly group-based protective justification (“It is not safe for any woman”) for a partners imagined opposition to an internship that involved interviewing criminals. By fusing benevolence with dominance, protective paternalism can lead women (especially those who are high on benevolent sexism) to accept restrictions.

Close relationships, gender, and career salience

According to traditional gender roles and stereotypes, men are given the primary role of breadwinners (work orientation), whereas women are responsible for the nurturance of children and the maintenance of the family dwelling (family orientation). Therefore, it could be presumed that women and men with a steady romantic relationship give a different importance to their career. However, several factors may affect the relation between close relationships and career salience, namely, (1) characteristics of the individual (education and employment status, gender ideology, gender role identity), (2) characteristics of the relationship (e.g., dependence on the partner, presence or not of children), and (3) characteristics of the partner (e.g., gender ideology, educational attainment). Moreover, these factors may affect career salience differentially in men and women. Both members of 148 Spanish couples, all white and middle-class, answered an individual questionnaire. The results show that women and men obtained similar scores in career salience. However, women with children, a low educational level, and traditional gender ideology and those who were strongly influenced by their partners showed lower career salience than women with the opposite characteristics. Moreover, whereas career salience among men was unrelated to the characteristics of their partners, career salience among women was related to the gender ideology, labor situation, and educational attainment of their partners.

Don't Rock the Boat: Women's Benevolent Sexism Predicts Fears of Marital Violence

We examined how Spanish womens benevolent sexism (a sex-role attitude) affects their perceptions of whether a hypothetical husband will feel threatened by a wifes success at work. In a social perception study, female participants (N = 210) read a vignette in which a husband and his wife argued over her job promotion. Womens benevolent sexism (but not hostile sexism) predicted viewing the husband as more threatened by his wifes promotion and more likely to aggress against her (intimate partner violence). The effect of womens benevolent sexism was robust and not mitigated when specific information about the husbands attitude (traditional, egalitarian, no information) was provided. Belief that a husband would feel threatened by a wifes promotion partially mediated the relationship between womens benevolent sexism scores and their anticipation that the husband would become violent. Benevolently sexist women may embrace traditional roles in relationships in part to avoid antagonizing male partners, ultimately maintaining the status quo.

Atribución del comportamiento del agresor y consejo a la víctima en un caso de violencia doméstica

Resumen Numerosa investigación ha mostrado que niveles altos de dependencia económica de la mujer predicen la probabilidad de poder sufrir maltrato psicológico o físico por parte de su pareja. Sobre esta base, uno de los objetivos de nuestra investigación fue examinar el rol de la dependencia económica en la percepción de violencia de género y verificar si las actitudes hacia una situación de violencia pueden verse afectadas por el género del observador. La investigación psicosocial también ha confirmado la existencia de creencias sexistas en la sociedad que pueden ser utilizadas para legitimar y mantener este tipo de agresión. Así, el segundo objetivo de la presente investigación consistió en analizar la relación entre las creencias sexistas y la justificación de la violencia doméstica. Los resultados muestran la influencia tanto del género del observador, de la dependencia económica de la mujer víctima, así como de las creencias sexistas en las reacciones hacia la violencia doméstica.

Causes of loneliness in North America and Spain

The present study examined the influence of cultural background on the causes of loneliness. A total of 639 participants from North America and 454 from Spain volunteered to answer an 82-item questionnaire examining the causes of their loneliness. The factors that comprise the causes of loneliness are Personal inadequacies, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation/Significant separations, and Social marginality. Results indicated that cultural background indeed affects the causes of loneliness. North Americans scored higher on all five factors, and a similar trend was evident when men and women were compared across cultures.

Soledad y apoyo social

ResumenEl objetivo fundamental de esta investigacion ha sido tratar de delimitar el constructo soledad. Si bien tradicionalmente en la literatura sobre el tema se ha establecido un paralelismo entre soledad y apoyo social, en tanto que ambos conceptos hacen referencia a las relaciones sociales que mantienen las personas, nuestro principal interes ha sido tratar de poner de manifiesto que la soledad, a pesar de estar relacionada con determinados aspectos del apoyo social, es un fenomeno diferente que hace referencia a aspectos mas subjetivos, emocionales, profundos y globales, y que por tanto, tendra efectos mas devastadores sobre la vida de las personas que la falta de apoyo social.En esta investigacion se presentan datos de 786 personas de ambos sexos y diferente edad, nivel educativo, estado civil, etc., que contestaron un cuestionario que incluia la 3a version de la UCLA Loneliness Scale, la medida de Apoyo Social de Dunkel-Schettery cols. (1986), asi como medidas de autoestima y calidad de vida. Los r...

Gender-based violence against women with visual and physical disabilities

BACKGROUND Studies conducted in several countries have documented that women with disabilities are more vulnerable to experience gender-based violence than women without disabilities. METHOD A total of 96 women, 45 with visual disabilities and 51 with physical disabilities, were interviewed to determine the prevalence of violence and its possible relations with socio-economic, socio-demographic and disability-related factors. Possible consequences of violence in health and psychological well-being were also analyzed. RESULTS Results showed a higher prevalence of abuse in this group of women than the estimated prevalence in the general female population in Spain. Abused women were found to have lower income and higher levels of physical dependence and family responsibilities than non-victims. In addition, violence was associated with lower levels of emotional well-being, psychological health, self-esteem and perceived social support beyond those attributable to the disability. CONCLUSIONS These results are discussed in light of some theoretical models that establish some links between disability and gender-based violence.

Is the beautiful always so good? Influence of physical attractiveness on the social perception of sexual harassment / ¿Es lo bello siempre tan bueno? Influencia del atractivo físico en la percepción social del acoso sexual

Abstract Research has shown that the perception of sexual harassment depends on factors such as gender, the situational context, the type of harassment, the ideology of the perceiver, the physical attractiveness of the harasser and victim and the relationship between them. This study focuses on examining the influence of physical attractiveness in the perception of a situation like sexual harassment. Through a questionnaire, 205 participants read a scenario in which a male worker (attractive vs. unattractive) engaged in gender harassment against a female colleague (attractive vs. unattractive). The participants then answered the measurements on the perception of harassment, responsibility, motivation and ideology. The main results were that the situation was more often perceived as sexual harassment when the victim of the harassment was physically attractive than when she was unattractive. Furthermore, the higher the participants’ acceptance of harassment myths the more they tended to blame the victim. We can conclude from this study the importance of the influence of certain myths or preconceived ideas about sexual harassment, which are found in both men and women, on how these situations are perceived.