Sex Roles最新文献

In 2016, the United States Army removed its ban on women working in combat roles in previously reserved jobs for men. This policy change included a concerted effort by Army leadership to ensure women felt included in their new roles. Nevertheless, the immediate response to the policy changes led to mixed results in translating and implementing these new policies. This study takes qualitative data from a study on diversity and inclusion policy and practices to investigate women’s experiences working in various roles in 2019. We collected qualitative data from 19 focus groups and 120 soldiers in 2019 from four Army installations across the United States. An inductive analysis of focus group interviews revealed three major themes: social exclusion due to gender, updated policies to include women, sexism, and gender harassment. Since inclusion is an interpersonal experience, the themes were analyzed through an intersectional template to see if race and rank also played a role in women's experiences in combat roles. These findings provide a more nuanced and lived experience perspective on being a woman serving in combat in the United States Army.

To date, little is known about body image and eating concerns among men in midlife. To bridge this gap in the literature, this study tested an adapted and integrated sociocultural model of body image and eating concerns among men in midlife. A sample of men (N = 213) between the ages of 45 and 60 years living in the United States completed an online survey and reported on sociocultural pressures from media, friends, family and partners, body image in younger years, internalization of a youthful lean and muscular ideal, appearance comparison, sexual objectification, body dissatisfaction, attitudes towards muscularity, drive for leanness and thinness, participation in muscularity-oriented behaviors, and restrictive eating. After modification, the final model revealed good fit to the data. Although not all predicted pathways were supported, overall, interpersonal and media pressures were related to internalization of ideals and appearance comparison. In turn, internalization and comparison were related to higher body dissatisfaction, drive for leanness and muscularity, and engagement in muscularity-oriented behaviors and restrictive eating. Findings support the usefulness of an adapted and integrated sociocultural model of body image and eating concerns in midlife men. The model suggests that the pressures that may increase body image and eating concerns in younger men may also be relevant in midlife men. Findings also highlight the usefulness of considering age-specific body-change behaviors and disordered eating in midlife men.

Researchers can unintentionally reinforce societal prejudice against minoritized populations through the false assumption that psychological measurements are generalizable across identities. Recently, researchers have posited that gender and sexually diverse (GSD) people could feel excluded or confused by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) due to its overtly heteronormative statements like “A man is incomplete without the love of a woman.” Yet, the ASI is used for indexing the endorsement of sexism in GSD samples and across diverse populations. An ideal test of these experiences is to directly consult GSD participants for their reactions. In the current study, we report a reflexive thematic analysis of lesbian women and gay men’s (N = 744) feedback immediately after completing the ASI. Four themes characterized participants’ reactions to the ASI: Exclusion: Heteronormative items erase diverse genders and sexualities, Confusion: Inability to meaningfully respond due to heteronormativity, Hope: Exclusion understood as a necessary sacrifice toward progress, and Distress: Exclusion inflicts distress by reflecting societal prejudice. The themes captured the experience that many participants found heteronormative assumptions salient in the ASI and had varied reactions to the heteronormativity. Our results extend prior research that questions the generalizability of results drawn from the ASI, especially studies including GSD participants. We discuss the implications of the continued use of the ASI and encourage researchers to critically evaluate underlying theories and assumptions to ensure participants can engage with measures as intended.

This paper integrates evidence across a range of research programs to make the case that gender nonconformity and sexual orientation are interconnected in a way that reflects a degree of reality. One body of research concerns the accurate judgments of sexual orientation of adult targets based on nonverbal gendered cues, focusing on targets’ spontaneous presentation of the self that includes cues from body shape, movement, the face, and the voice. A second body of research examines the perceived gender atypicality of child targets who later come out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) in adulthood. This research points to growing evidence concerning the reality of gender atypicality for members of the LGB community on the aggregate. The scope of this reality, as well as implications for the LGB community, are discussed.

The social construction of pregnancy emphasizes the mother’s responsibility for the developing fetus. Hence, certain activities, such as participation in competitive sport, are often constructed as inappropriate during pregnancy. While expert opinion tends to stress caution, the diversity of athlete mothers’ experiences challenge these dominant discourses. Less is known about how peers and other stakeholders in sport view the participation of pregnant athletes. Knowledge of such attitudes is essential to understanding the position of women in a specific society and the barriers to their autonomy. Hence, we examined survey responses from different sport stakeholders (N = 540) in Finland. Drawing on relational dialectics theory (Baxter, L. A. (2011). Voicing relationships. Sage.), we used contrapuntal analysis to identify different discourses on the compatibility of pregnancy and sport, and their interplay. Three discourses were identified: an equality discourse, which emphasizes that sport belongs to everyone, and that pregnant people should be accepted and supported in sporting environments; a responsibility discourse, which constructs pregnancy as fragility and sport as potentially dangerous for the athlete and the fetus; and an incompatibility discourse, which constructs pregnancy as a disease and unacceptable in sporting environments. Our analysis shows that medicalized, authoritative knowledge is the master strategy used to keep women out of male social spaces during pregnancy. The findings of our study highlight the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice in a patriarchal world order. To advance women’s position in society and support the autonomy of all individuals, viable professional guidelines and organizational policies must be formulated and applied.

A dominant narrative among men’s rights activists (MRAs) is that rape culture does not exist. Despite statistical evidence that men are more likely to be sexually assaulted than wrongfully accused of assault, false rape allegations are the most frequently discussed topic on MRA forums and websites. In this study, we analyzed comments about false rape allegations posted to r/MensRights, a popular MRA forum. Just as the larger MRA movement emerged as a reactionary counterbalance to a feminist movement that MRAs believe has purportedly achieved equality, we found that MRAs construct a culture of false rape allegations to counterbalance a purportedly non-existent rape culture. Using a grounded theory approach to examine the narratives deployed by MRAs, we discovered that these men construct what we call a “compensatory culture of injury.” We found that MRAs are driven by “aspirational oppression,” which we theorize as a sense of grievance surrounding a group’s diminishing privilege and desire to achieve the guise of subjugation that warrants reparations to restore the status quo in the ostensible pursuit of fairness and equality. This co-optation of victimhood may be challenged by structural conversations about gender as well as the explicit identification of the misogynistic nature of MRA narratives.

Developmental psychologists have studied how toys shape gender schemas but have not focused exclusively on sport toys. Given persistent gender gaps in sport participation, it is important to understand how gendered meanings about sport are communicated and perceived through all kinds of play. This mixed methods research examined such meanings attached to sport toys using a content analysis and a survey. In Study 1, a content and descriptive analysis of toy listings (N = 107) on retail websites revealed that most toy names lacked explicit gender labels. However, toys were more likely to display masculine color schemes and boys outnumbered girls 2-to-1 in photographs of children playing with the toys. Boys were also depicted as more actively engaged, especially with highly physical sports. In Study 2, a correlational analysis of survey responses from 530 participants indicated that adults primarily viewed sport toys as masculine, though they saw dolls, aesthetic toys, and pink toys as appropriate for girls. Aggressive sport toys were linked to boys even when they were pink, indicating limits to the impact of implicit gender markers. Together, both studies show that sports toys are still viewed as (mostly) for boys and suggest that these messages may communicate gender stereotypes about sport. Evidence-based recommendations for toy sellers regarding toy color and gender representation are included, as is advice for toy purchasers who want to encourage gender inclusive play and flexible gender schemas.

Women have made strides in male-dominated sports but still face obstacles from gender biases and lack of diversity. Particularly in strength sports, the underrepresentation of women and lack of research on their lived experiences as athletes and coaches is notable. This study investigated the experiences of 21 women athletes and four coaches aged 18–44 in the strength sports of Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, CrossFit, and strongman. Results showed that women athletes struggled with body image, societal expectations, gender bias and diversity, and male interactions, even as they challenged gender norms and established their presence in these male-dominated sports. Athletes’ experiences aligned with past research, but also included powerful expression of what it means to be a strong woman despite societal pressure. Women coaches also report career progression and equal employment challenges and stressed the importance of women’s representation and inclusion at all levels of these sports. Findings also indicated that while women’s performance demonstrates shifting norms for strength in these sports, more work is needed to overcome continued gender bias and to achieve equal employment opportunities for coaches. National sport governing bodies should review policy to support inclusion at all levels, and provide resources, mentorship, and training opportunities to improve accessibility to women coaches and athletes at all levels.

Recently imposed reproductive rights restrictions have triggered widespread pro-choice protests in countries like Poland and the U.S. This study, conducted online in Poland following the 22 October 2020 decision of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal to strengthen restrictions on legal access to abortion, investigated the motivations of 939 Poles (55% women) to participate in pro-choice protests. We examined how different aspects of gender collective self-esteem and feminist identification were associated with reactance to the freedom restrictions imposed by the abortion ban and with engagement in pro-choice protests among women and men. We found that for both genders, weaker gender identification was associated with higher feminist identification, greater reactance to the abortion ban, and increased involvement in pro-choice protests. However, we observed gender differences in the motivations to participate. Women who perceived themselves as valued members of their gender group, had negative personal views about their gender or felt their gender was undervalued by society, were more likely to engage in pro-choice activism. Men who held negative personal views about their gender or felt their gender was valued by society were more likely to engage in pro-choice protests. This study adds novel predictors to the literature on engagement in pro-choice collective action, offering practical insights into which aspects of gender collective self-esteem should be targeted to enhance feminist identification and support for the pro-choice movement.

Objectification of women is heightened during the reproductive years and is associated with a myriad of adverse outcomes. Yet, little research has examined the impact of self-objectification among postpartum women and whether potential effects can be ameliorated. The current study investigated the association between self-objectification and well-being among women who had given birth in the last three years, and whether self-compassion moderated or mediated the link. As hypothesized, women (N = 162) higher in self-objectification reported greater body shame, appearance anxiety, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating, and lower life satisfaction, self-esteem, and more negative experience being a mother, whereas women higher in self-compassion reported more positive outcomes on these measures. Self-compassion mediated the association between self-objectification and poorer well-being on most outcomes. Unexpectedly, neither self-objectification nor self-compassion were associated with sexual dysfunction or breastfeeding confidence. The findings suggest that although women might be prone to self-objectification and body shame during the postpartum period, self-compassion explains this relation and potentially holds promise for disrupting negative experiences during the transition to motherhood.