Communications in Humanities Research
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Communications in Humanities Research
Vol. 26, 03 January 2024
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The Causes, Manifestations, and Effects of Benevolent Sexism and How It Contributes to the Perpetuation of Gender Discrimination
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Abstract
Benevolent sexism is a subtle form of gender discrimination that manifests itself in seemingly friendly attitudes and behaviors towards women. This research synthesizes existing literature, incorporating research and analysis from multiple subjects including psychology, sociology, and gender studies to explore various forms of benevolent sexism, dissect the underlying ideologies that support its existence, and investigate its impact on women in society. In addition, this paper includes case studies of real-life situations to illustrate the practical implications of benevolent sexism. According to analysis, it can be concluded that benevolent sexism manifests itself in various ways, such as an expression of kindness and appreciation, traditional gender roles and stereotypes, denial of women’s capabilities due to deep-rooted prejudices, and paternalistic and chivalrous behavior. From the perspectives of historical foundation, a lack of awareness, and social environment, benevolent sexism exists and contributes to the perpetuation of gender discrimination by reinforcing the stereotype about women, hindering women's advancement in professional and academic fields, gradually normalizing gender inequality within societies and communities, and lacking recognition of women's achievements, contributions, and abilities.
Keywords
Benevolent Sexism, Gender Equality, Gender Roles, Stereotypes
References
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3. Davis, T. M., Settles, I. H. and Jones, M. K. (2022). Standpoints and situatedness: Examining the perception of benevolent sexism in black and white undergraduate women and men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 46(1), 8-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843211043108.
4. Bareket, O. and Fiske, S. T. (2023). A systematic review of the ambivalent sexism literature: Hostile sexism protects men’s power; benevolent sexism guards traditional gender roles. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000400.
5. Gervais, S. J., Vescio, T. K. and Allen, J. (2011). When what you see is what you get: The consequences of the objectifying gaze for women and men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(1), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684310386121.
6. Salmen, A. and Dhont, K. (2021). Hostile and benevolent sexism: The differential roles of human supremacy beliefs, women’s connection to nature, and the dehumanization of women. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(7), 1053-1076. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220920713.
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Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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- Volume Title
- Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies
- ISBN (Print)
- 978-1-83558-255-8
- ISBN (Online)
- 978-1-83558-256-5
- Published Date
- 03 January 2024
- Series
- Communications in Humanities Research
- ISSN (Print)
- 2753-7064
- ISSN (Online)
- 2753-7072
- DOI
- 10.54254/2753-7064/26/20232025
- Copyright
- 03 January 2024
- Open Access
- This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited