Sex Roles最新文献

Black women in the United States experience sexual harassment and violence at rates much higher than do White women, suffering greater psychological and physical harm. We examined how White Racial Identity, race of the female victim, and characteristics of the perpetrator combine to influence White Americans’ willingness to respond in a supportive way toward the sexual harassment complainant (i.e., allyship). White US participants (N = 419) completed a racial identity measure and read about a White male supervisor’s alleged workplace sexual harassment (with violence) of a Black or White female subordinate. The supervisor was portrayed with characteristics to elicit perceptions of high or low supervisor benevolence. As hypothesized and consistent with the aversive racism framework, for the Black complainant only, in the high (but not low) supervisor benevolence condition, stronger White racial identity predicted markedly lower intervention intentions and less supervisor-directed punishment. The effects were mediated by lower perceived complainant suffering. These findings offer insights into the complex dynamics influencing allyship, making White Americans more aware of the factors that may subtly shape their willingness to intervene and offer support for Black women who are victims of interracial sexual harassment, as well informing the development of interventions to produce more equitable treatment of Black women in the workplace.

Sexual consent communication can be ambiguous when people rely on nonverbal, implicit cues. This ambiguity can lead to the reliance of contextual information to assess whether a sexual encounter was consensual, both in the moment and retrospectively. The current study examined how level of alcohol consumption, relationship type, and evaluator gender influenced the extent to which various sexual encounters were seen as consensual. Participants read a series of vignettes in which sexual consent was verbally granted, verbally rejected, or inferred using nonverbal cues. The vignettes also manipulated the amount of alcohol consumed by the target of the sexual advances (i.e., sober, tipsy, or intoxicated) as well as the relationship between the dyads (i.e., dating or strangers). Generally, male participants were more likely to interpret all encounters as more consensual. Encounters in which the target was intoxicated were more likely to be interpreted as nonconsensual, but instances when targets were described as tipsy (i.e., she consumed two or less alcoholic beverages) were seen as more consensual than sober encounters. The relationship between the dyads also influenced these perceptions. This work can inform educational efforts geared toward alcohol and sexual consent.

Research on men and masculinities is increasingly concerned with contemporary transformations in the way men understand and “do” gender. In particular, burgeoning paradigms like the hybrid masculinities framework have called attention to diverse patterns of practice among men that are seemingly at odds with traditional iterations of hegemonic masculinity. We conceptualize one component of this practice as a concerted process of “strategic masculine disinvestment.” Using new, nationally representative survey data pertaining to men living in the United States, we ask two novel questions about this phenomenon that have not been addressed at the population level. First, who disinvests from traditional masculinity? While masculine distancing tends to be observed among privileged men in qualitative studies, a comprehensive view of which men engage in this practice within the general population is absent from the literature. Secondly, how are contemporary transformations of gender like strategic masculine disinvestment associated with psychosocial functioning? Findings suggest that strategic masculine disinvestment is more common among young and college educated men, but is not necessarily unique to unilaterally privileged men. In fact, men experiencing financial strain are especially likely to disinvest from masculinity. We also observe that strategic masculine disinvestment is consistently associated with poorer psychosocial functioning, including lower levels of mastery and higher levels of anger, anxiety, depression, and non-specific psychological distress. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for studies of men and masculinities and of contemporary transformations of gender more generally.

Based on the assumption that language influences thinking, the present study investigated the effect of gender-fair language in German, a grammatically gendered language among primary school children. Specifically, in a single-study experiment, we compared 218 German third and fourth graders on the effects of the generic masculine (e.g., der Polizist; English: the policeman) and gender-fair language in terms of the feminine and masculine form (e.g., die Polizistin/der Polizist; English: the policewoman/the policeman) on the cognitive representation of women in stereotypically masculine occupations and occupational self-efficacy. General self-efficacy was examined as a moderator variable, assumed to influence the effect of gender-fair language on occupational self-efficacy. The results indicate that the gender-fair form led to a higher cognitive representation of women in stereotypically masculine occupations for girls and increased girls’ occupational self-efficacy for stereotypically masculine occupations. In contrast, the use of gender-fair language did not significantly influence boys’ cognitive representation of women and their occupational self-efficacy. General self-efficacy did not affect the effect of gender-fair language on occupational self-efficacy. Thus, even as early as in primary school, gender-fair language could help attracting girls to stereotypically masculine occupations.

This qualitative study examines the experiences and functions of gender among people who do not identify their genders as exclusively either man or woman (e.g., genderfluid, nonconforming, agender, genderqueer, multigender, nonbinary people). In this paper, we use the term “not-binary” as an inclusive term that refers to these gender identities categorically. Semi-structured interviews with 17 participants living in the U.S. focused on meanings and functions of gender; processes of navigating intrapersonal, interpersonal, and sociopolitical experiences; and intersectional identities. Responses were analyzed using critical-constructivist grounded theory method (Levitt in Essentials of critical-constructivist grounded theory research, American Psychological Association, 2021). Findings revealed that participants intentionally engaged in processes of gender exploration, contestation, and transformation to deliberately challenge and reshape their own conceptualization of gender and that of others. Participants shared the meanings of their identities and pronouns for expressing their sense of self, and how they wished others to interact with them, as well as the complications of language for expressing genders that can be fluid and changing. In addition, participants conveyed the experience of having their gender identities politicized and their rights contested on the national stage. Expanding the transnormative narrative that focuses on gender dysphoria, participants highlighted affirming community and positive and euphoric gender experiences that supported them to engage in resistance to oppressive forces. These findings underscore the importance of education on not-binary experiences, the provision of gender affirming care, and the correction of public misinformation for the well-being of non-binary individuals.

Every person should feel accepted at work. Organizations can signal that all identities are welcomed and protected through affirming factors in their environment, known as identity-safety cues. However, there are also things organizations can do to signal that certain identities are not welcome. Thus, the current study aims to identify the factors that can impact identity safety perceptions among transgender and gender expansive employees of color, as the past literature on transgender and gender expansive identity-safety cues predominately includes White-majority samples. This study analyzes the intersection of marginalized racial/ethnic and gender identities, and how these combined identities impact the perceptions of identity safety. Researchers conducted 21 semi-structured interviews through Zoom, which were analyzed by hand and through Dedoose software using reflexive thematic analysis. Results found that minimal, partial, or incomplete identity support may signal some identity safety, but the ideal inclusion is support for all identities, and the intersection of those identities. Indeed, limited identity support, insufficient organizational systems, performativity, and discrimination can restrict perceptions of identity safety, while interpersonal support, intersectional representation, and inclusive organizational policies can signal identity safety. Overall, results indicated that it is not sufficient for organizations to signal identity safety for one identity, or for each identity separately; but rather, intersectional support is needed to allow transgender and gender expansive employees of color to feel safe at work.

Social role theory (Eagly, 1987) posits that gender differences in career interests are consistent with normative social role expectations, with men assuming more agentic roles and women assuming more communal roles. To account for historical shifts in occupations and social roles, this mixed-methods study re-examines gender differences in career interests and motivations with a sample of 501 eighth graders (52% girls; 40% White) from the U.S. Findings indicated that boys and girls had distinct career interests and motivations. Despite preferring careers that were generally dominated by their own gender, students perceived their chosen career as being more gender balanced than U.S. labor force statistics indicate. This misperception might be the result of a preference for less stereotypical occupations, and may reflect a unique characteristic of the next-generation workforce. In addition, boys were more likely than girls to indicate that salary factored into their career choice; whereas girls were more likely than boys to indicate that a desire for helping others or working with children motivated their career choice, consistent with social role theory. Some motivational factors that are typically linked with young adult career preferences were not strong factors in younger adolescents’ career interests, perhaps due to the developmental status of participants or a generational shift in values. A generational shift in values may account for the presence of a relatively understudied motivational factor, occupation creativity, which was important for both boys and girls. Addressing gender differences in the motivations and goals that affect career interests may both alleviate workforce shortages and achieve a less gender segregated work environment.

Two studies examined the effects of race on the think manager-think male effect, which has shown men in general to be viewed more similarly to successful managers than women in general. The first study directly manipulated the race of the male or female target in the think manager-think-male framework and examined the effects on two key measures of agency – competence and assertiveness – as well as on communality. Results indicated that the differences in agency characterizations between men and successful managers and women and successful managers that are emblematic of the think-manager-think-male effect were not always evident. While the think manager-think male effect was observed for men and women “in general” as well as for men and women designated as White, it did not hold for Black and Asian targets, whose characterizations were influenced not only by gender stereotypes but also by racial stereotypes. Additionally, a potential “think manager-think female” effect, as indicated by greater overlap in communality ratings between women in general and successful managers than between men in general and successful managers held for targets who were White and Black, but not for those who were Asian. A follow-up study focused on potential implications of the findings from the first study and indicated that competence was believed to be more important than either communality or assertiveness, while communality was believed to be more important than assertiveness in determining managerial success. These results raise questions about the universality of the think-manager-think-male effect and the scope of its generalizability. These findings also add to the growing concern about the precision and application of gender bias research findings when attention is not paid to crucial intersecting identities such as race.

Despite Australian and New Zealand Universities pledging to address gender inequities, the patriarchal history of universities continues to impact the careers of women in academia. Under-representation of women in senior leadership and a culture of masculinity can lead to a lack of resources for feminist leadership and a devaluing of women’s work. We investigate how women in academic leadership are playing the game differently, making strategic moves to navigate leadership in the neoliberal neopatriarchal academy. We explored the experiences of 22 women in academic leadership through online qualitative surveys and reflexive thematic analysis of the data, taking inspiration from Bourdieu’s work on habitus and doxa. Although women leaders were able to successfully make strategic moves to advance their careers, these were shaped by parenting status, race, culture, and age. The women’s leadership approaches were counter to the masculine doxa of the academic field, leading instead relationally. We do not suggest that there is a specific ‘female’ style of academic leadership, but that successful authentic leadership can be founded on a feminist ethics of care in contrast to neopatriarchy. Adoption of such approaches across the academy might unshackle academics across genders from their positioning in academic leadership hierarchies.

The present study aimed to investigate hostile and benevolent sexist experiences of women in Turkey. We translated and adapted the Experiences with Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (EASI) and the Experiences with Benevolent Sexism Scale (EBSS) to the Turkish culture, which has higher average rates of sexism than the U.S., where the scales were originally developed. Three samples of college women (Ns = 245, 455, and 555) rated the frequencies of EASI and EBSS events. We also assessed participants’ psychological well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, self-esteem, self-efficacy), aspirations, and ambivalent sexist attitudes. The findings provide preliminary support for the construct validity of the scales in a Turkish context, demonstrating that the EASI and EBSS measure benevolent experiences (i.e., protective paternalism, complementary gender differentiation, and heterosexual intimacy) and EASI also assesses hostile experiences (i.e., hostile sexism and heterosexual hostility). More frequent experiences of hostile sexism, protective paternalism, and complementary gender differentiation were related to lower levels of well-being, whereas heterosexual hostility and heterosexual intimacy were related to higher levels of well-being. Heterosexual hostility and heterosexual intimacy were also related to higher extrinsic aspirations. Participants rated benevolent experiences as more frequent but less distressing than hostile ones. Overall, these findings indicate that ambivalent sexist experiences are significant for women’s psychological wellbeing and aspirations.