Kay B. White

First- and Second-Generation Measures of Sexism, Rape Myths and Related Beliefs, and Hostility Toward Women Their Interrelationships and Association with College Students’ Experiences with Dating Aggression and Sexual Coercion

Sexist attitudes and rape-supporting beliefs have long been linked to relationship aggression and sexual coercion. This study investigates how recent developments in the conceptualization and measurement of these variables are related to each other and how they are related to aggressive and coercive behaviors. Second-generation measures of sexism and rape-supporting beliefs were found to be related to each other and to aggressive and sexually coercive behaviors. Relationships between attitude measures appeared to be based primarily on shared belief systems, whereas relationships between attitude measures and aggressive behavior appeared to be based primarily on generalized hostility toward women.

Dating Aggression, Sexual Coercion, and Aggression-Supporting Attitudes Among College Men as a Function of Participation in Aggressive High School Sports

Aggressive male sports have been criticized as bastions of sexism and training grounds for aggression against women, but there have been few empirical demonstrations of these alleged relationships. The authors studied self-reported dating aggression and sexual coercion in 147 college men. Men who had participated in aggressive high school sports, as compared with other men, engaged in more psychological aggression, physical aggression, and sexual coercion toward their dating partners, caused their partners more physical injury, were more accepting of violence, had more sexist attitudes and hostility toward women, were more accepting of rape myths, and were less tolerant of homosexuality. Results indicate that participation in aggressive high school sports is one of the multiple developmental pathways leading to relationship violence.

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 Fiskes 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.

The Role of Hostile and Benevolent Sexism in Women's and Men's Perceptions of the Menstruating Woman.

Perceptions of menstruating women were studied in a sample of 244, predominantly European American, college freshmen. Both women and men rated the menstruating woman, as compared with the average woman, as higher on the Neuroticism factor from Lippas (1991) measure of the Big Five personality factors. Men also rated her as lower on the Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness factors, and women rated her lower on the Extraversion factor. Women rated her as perceiving herself as less masculine and more feminine. Both women and men rated her as less “energized” and “sexy,” but more “irritable,” “sad,” and “angry.” In addition, men rated her as less “clean and fresh,” “nurturing,” and “reasonable,” and more “spacey” and “annoying.” Significant relationships were found between negative impressions of the menstruating woman and the Hostile Sexism Scale (Glick & Fiske, 1996). Although most ratings by men and women were negative, women perceived the menstruating woman as more “maternal,” “strong,” and “trustworthy.”

Perceptions of Married Women and Married Men with Hyphenated Surnames

A predominately European American sample of 197 middle-class college students rated married women and men with hyphenated surnames on the Big Five personality factors (R. Lippa, 1991), the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (J. T. Spence & R. L. Helmreich, 1978), the adjectives “masculine” and “feminine,” and 12 adjective phrases reflecting different aspects of marriage. Both men and women perceived women and men with hyphenated last names as different from other married people. In comparison with the average married woman, the woman with a hyphenated name was perceived as more friendly, good-natured, industrious, and intellectually curious. She was also perceived as well educated and as more likely to have a career. Men with hyphenated surnames were also perceived as accommodating and good-natured, and viewed as being both nurturing and committed to their marriage. Women and men with hyphenated names were generally perceived as having higher levels of both instrumental and expressive traits than other married people. Women appear to have more positive perceptions than men, particularly of the man with a hyphenated name. The results suggest that college students have generally positive perceptions of married people with hyphenated names.

Nontraditional Students in Social Work: A Diversity Within

The demographics of students in higher education have been steadily reflecting an increasingly diverse student population. One of the fastest growing groups in this population is that of nontraditi...

Perceptions of the social and personal characteristics of hypermuscular women and of the men who love them.

A predominately European American sample of middle class college students rated hypermuscular female bodybuilders and the men who were romantically involved with them on measures of perceived gender traits, personality traits, social behaviors, and heterosexual behaviors. Participants perceived hypermuscular women, as compared to the average woman, as having more masculine and fewer feminine interests, less likely to be good mothers, and less intelligent, socially popular, and attractive. However, participants also perceived them as being less likely to engage in socially deviant behaviors or to be sexually manipulative and more likely to be extraverted, conscientious, and open to new experiences than the average woman. Participants perceived men who are romantically involved with hypermuscular women as having stronger masculine traits, interests, and identities than the average man. The authors found no relationships between the perceivers gender type and his or her perceptions of hypermuscular women or the men who were romantically involved with them.

Perceptions of the Jackson-Timberlake Super Bowl incident : Role of sexism and erotophobia

201 college womens and 179 mens impressions of the Jackson-Timberlake Super Bowl incident were related to measures of benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, and erotophobia. For both women and men high benevolent sexism was correlated (.17–.24) to perceptions that the incident was degrading and that agents (e.g., MTV, NFL, Hollywood) other than the actors were responsible for the incident, whereas high erotophobia was correlated (.29–.39) to perceptions that the incident was degrading, attributable to others, and personally upsetting.