Sex RolesPub Date : 2025-02-13DOI: 10.1007/s11199-025-01566-6
Xiaoling Shu, Kelsey D. Meagher
{"title":"Mind the Gap: Gender, Racial, and Educational Differences in American Gender Attitudes from 1977 to 2018","authors":"Xiaoling Shu, Kelsey D. Meagher","doi":"10.1007/s11199-025-01566-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-025-01566-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite dramatic changes since the 1970s, gender and educational gaps in gender egalitarian attitudes have persisted while the racial gap (with Blacks leading) has narrowed. We apply interest-based and socialization mechanisms to predict the differential influences of labor market influences on changing gender attitudes for different races, genders, and educational groups. Using 21 waves of the General Social Survey, 1977–2018 (<i>N</i> = 27,662), and cross-classified age-period-cohort models, we examine the effects of two known labor market dynamics that shifted Americans’ gender attitudes, gender equality in the labor force and men’s overwork, on egalitarian gender attitudes among different racial, gender, and educational groups. The findings indicate that rising labor force gender equality is associated with stronger shifts toward gender egalitarianism among whites, bringing their attitudes more in line with Blacks and closing the racial gap. The rise of men’s overwork in the mid-1990s coincided with the “stalled gender revolution” and is associated with rising conservatism among whites and the college-educated. The gender gap in attitudes has persisted in the last four decades and neither of these labor market dynamics has exerted any impact. Results align with the socialization perspective that individuals respond to labor market dynamics more in accordance with their socially prescribed roles than their self-interests.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143401782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2025-02-10DOI: 10.1007/s11199-025-01564-8
Sharon Lamb, Aashika Anantharaman, Sarah Swanson, Rudolph Eiland
{"title":"Ethical Sexual Regret in Men: A Discourse Analysis","authors":"Sharon Lamb, Aashika Anantharaman, Sarah Swanson, Rudolph Eiland","doi":"10.1007/s11199-025-01564-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-025-01564-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ethical sexual regret refers to regret for acts during a sexual experience that questions one’s ethical behavior and may be an important concept in understanding and preventing sexual assault. Although sexual regret is relevant to discussions of consent and unwanted/coerced sex, few researchers have explored the concept, even fewer have explored the phenomenon in men, and none in queer men. In this discourse analytic study, we focused on male-identifying participants who were asked to write about a sexual experience about which they felt ethical regret. Discourses were categorized into five themes that informed the analysis. Several discourses revealed that heteronormative gendered social norms may offer men a way to position themselves as good men who had lapses of judgment rather than men who disregard their own morals for sexual advantage. When men were on the receiving end of sex that was uncaring, unfair, coercive or otherwise unethical, they positioned themselves as responsible for the harm, perhaps indicating a lack of availability of a victim discourse. We also noted an absence of a discourse that focused on care for the sexual partner. We discuss how examples of ethical sexual regret may guide future work related to facilitating sexually ethical encounters for men across sexual and gender identities.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143375497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2025-02-05DOI: 10.1007/s11199-025-01563-9
Sareh Nazari
{"title":"Workplace Experiences of Muslim Women in STEM in Canada: An Intersectional Qualitative Analysis","authors":"Sareh Nazari","doi":"10.1007/s11199-025-01563-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-025-01563-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study explores the workplace experiences of Muslim women in two STEM sectors in Canada: computer sciences and engineering sciences. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 17 Muslim women and drawing on theories of inequality regimes and intersectionality, this paper investigates the barriers that Muslim women face to fit into the organizational cultures within the computer and engineering fields due to their intersectional identities and how they respond to perceived barriers. Results revealed that most participants felt excluded from both formal and informal interactions. Their technical abilities were often questioned by non-Muslim, white male colleagues, leading to feelings of alienation and difficulty establishing trust and deeper connections. The visibility of their religious identity, particularly through the wearing of headscarves, intensified these challenges due to intersectional stereotypes. Additionally, balancing work and home responsibilities emerged as a significant barrier, as extended work hours and traditional religious gender roles, which prioritize childcare and household duties, hindered career progression. In response, participants employed strategies of confrontation and negotiation to navigate these workplace barriers. This research contributes to the gender and organizational literature by highlighting the specific challenges Muslim women face in STEM fields in Canada and underscores the need for inclusive policies that address these intersectional obstacles.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143125384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2025-01-16DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01557-z
Aylin Koçak, Eva Derous
{"title":"Women’s Intention to Apply to Top-Executive Positions: The Role of Gender Meta-Stereotypes in Job Ads","authors":"Aylin Koçak, Eva Derous","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01557-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01557-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Women are still underrepresented at the top levels of organizations across Europe and the United States. Scholars have identified obstacles that hinder women’s climb to the top but have overlooked women’s perceptions of job advertisements for top-level positions as a potential barrier to top-level positions. The present study investigated the effects of meta-stereotyped person requirements (positive vs. negative) and their wording (dispositional vs. behavioral) in job ads for top-level executive positions on female candidates’ application intention, as well as the mediating effect of job attractiveness. An experimental field study in a large, Western European governmental organization (<i>N</i><sub><i>main study</i></sub> = 432 female officers), preceded by a pilot study (verbal protocol analysis; <i>N</i><sub><i>pilot</i></sub> = 19 female executives) showed that compared to positively meta-stereotyped person requirements, negatively meta-stereotyped person requirements reduced female candidates’ attraction to a job and, in turn, their intention to apply for top-level executive positions. The way person requirements were worded in job ads (i.e., in a behavioral versus dispositional way) also affected women’s perceived job attractiveness, yet this depended on the type of requirement. Implications are considered for drafting job ads to encourage more qualified female candidates to apply.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"207 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142987020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Unbearable Weight of Gender Inequalities: Development and Validation of the Social Treatment and Experiences of Women (STEW) Scale","authors":"Stefano Ciaffoni, Monica Rubini, Silvia Moscatelli","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01555-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01555-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Gender inequalities are pervasive across various life domains, yet research has often overlooked how people perceive that women are treated differently than men. To fill this gap, we developed and validated the 16-item multidimensional Social Treatment and Experiences of Women (STEW) scale across different samples of women and different cultural contexts, namely Italy and the UK <i>N</i> = 1,195). Using exploratory (Study 1, <i>N =</i> 703) and confirmatory (Study 2, <i>N =</i> 550; Study 3a, <i>N =</i> 132; Study 4, <i>N</i> = 201; Study 5, <i>N</i> = 233) factor analysis, we identified four dimensions: workplace inequalities, domestic imbalance, harassment towards women, and social expectations. Studies 3a and 3b (<i>N =</i> 96) demonstrated convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the STEW, linking the STEW’s subscales to group-based emotions, reported experiences of sexism, attitudes towards affirmative action, and attitudes towards women’s sexual freedom. Replicating the factor structure in the UK, Study 4 found the STEW explained unique variance in group-based emotions and intergroup attitudes beyond personal experiences of sexism. Last, Study 5 showed that the STEW explains unique variance in collective action intentions and feminist identification beyond people’s attitudes towards gender equality. Highlighting the importance of conceiving gender inequalities as a multifaceted issue, the STEW provides a robust tool for assessing perceptions of differential treatment of women across domains and can inform more comprehensive interventions promoting gender equality.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"204 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2025-01-07DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01551-5
Stephanie B. Ward, Padideh Hassanpour, Kate Walsh
{"title":"Alcohol Use and Hostility Toward Women: Individual and Perceived Peer Attitudes Shape College Men's Consent Behavior","authors":"Stephanie B. Ward, Padideh Hassanpour, Kate Walsh","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01551-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01551-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Process-based consent conceives of sexual consent as a process whereby individuals are continuously considering and have concern for their sexual partner’s willingness to continue engaging in sexual behavior without coercion. The current study used cross-sectional survey data and hierarchical linear regression to examine the independent and interactive effects of sex-related alcohol use attitudes, hostility toward women, and peer support for abuse on college men’s process-based consent (<i>N</i> = 463; <i>M</i> age = 19; 93% heterosexual; 64% White, non-Hispanic). Findings revealed significant main effects of all three primary study variables on process-based consent beliefs and behaviors while controlling for fraternity membership, relationship status, and sexual history. A significant three-way interaction indicated that permissive sex-related alcohol use attitudes may inhibit process-based consent among college men with higher levels of hostility toward women who also believe their peers hold rape-supportive attitudes. These findings indicate that education around consent is necessary but may not be sufficient for preventing sexual violence. Interventions developed with and delivered by peer leaders that challenge harmful peer group norms about sex-related alcohol use and the mistreatment of women may create a social environment with more favorable conditions for changing individual college men’s beliefs and behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2025-01-04DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01556-0
Nina Waddell, Nickola C. Overall, Emily J. Cross, Chris G. Sibley
{"title":"Sexist Attitudes, Relationship Conflict and Satisfaction in Heterosexual Couples, and Men’s and Women’s Wellbeing","authors":"Nina Waddell, Nickola C. Overall, Emily J. Cross, Chris G. Sibley","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01556-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01556-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The current study tests the implications of men’s and women’s gender-related attitudes for relationship quality and wellbeing. We apply ambivalent sexism theory to differentiate between attitudes that should have detrimental versus beneficial effects for relationships by promoting antagonism (<i>hostile sexism</i>) versus complimentary relational roles (<i>benevolent sexism</i>) between men and women. Actor-partner interdependence analyses of heterosexual couples participating in a nationally representative panel study (<i>N</i> = 755) revealed that men’s hostile sexism predicted greater relationship conflict and lower relationship satisfaction, which in turn were associated with greater psychological distress and lower wellbeing for both men and their women partners. In contrast, men’s benevolent sexism predicted lower relationship conflict and greater satisfaction, which in turn was associated with lower distress and greater wellbeing for men but not women partners. Women’s sexist attitudes had differential effects. Women’s hostile sexism predicted lower relationship conflict and greater satisfaction, which was associated with higher wellbeing for men partners. In contrast, women’s benevolent sexism predicted greater relationship conflict, which related to greater distress and lower wellbeing for women and men partners. These results highlight the importance of gender-related attitudes on relationship quality, which has important implications for wellbeing.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2024-12-27DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01554-2
Joeun Kim
{"title":"Male Victimhood Ideology Among Korean Men: Is It Economic Hardship or Perceived Status Decline?","authors":"Joeun Kim","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01554-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01554-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Male victimhood ideology, the belief that men are the primary targets of gender discrimination, has gained traction among young men in recent years, but the underlying sources of these sentiments remain understudied. Utilizing four different datasets, collected in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2023 from representative samples of Korean men, this study investigates whether identification with male victimhood ideology is explained by objective economic hardships faced by men or by their perceptions of a status loss. The economic hardship perspective finds little support, as men who were less educated, had lower incomes, were unemployed, or had non-regular employment were no more likely to identify with male victimhood than their more economically stable counterparts. Instead, a perceived decline in socioeconomic status relative to one’s parents emerged as a significant predictor of male victimhood ideology, particularly among men from middle to upper class backgrounds. Additional analyses show that this pattern is not observed among Korean women of the same age group. Overall, the analysis of the four datasets consistently shows that male victimhood discourse is embraced most by those who perceive a loss of privilege, rather than by those who are marginalized.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142887982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2024-12-21DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01553-3
Rachel F. Rodgers, Susan J. Paxton, Eleanor H. Wertheim
{"title":"Do Images Speak Louder Than Words? Effects of Body Positive and Fitspiration Quotes and Images on State Body Image in Women and Men","authors":"Rachel F. Rodgers, Susan J. Paxton, Eleanor H. Wertheim","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01553-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01553-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Use of highly visual social media has been shown to be detrimental to body image when containing idealized and unrealistic images, such as “fitspiration” content portraying thin and toned bodies. More recently, social media content that is labelled “body positive” portrays more diverse body shapes and preaches body acceptance and has been shown to improve women’s body image. To date, little is known about the comparative effects of this content on body image when delivered in written versus image form, or how body positive content may influence body image in men. The present study examined the relative effects of body positive and fitspiration quotes and images on body image among women and men, with images selected to target the respective beauty ideals ascribed to women (e.g., thin, toned, small bodies) and men (e.g., hypermuscular bodies). A total of 509 women and 489 men, aged 18–25, were recruited for an online study where they viewed one of five sets of images that targeted the respective beauty ideals for their gender: (1) fitspiration images, (2) fitspiration quotes, (3) body positive images, (4) body positive quotes, or (5) travel images; and completed pre- and post-exposure measures of state appearance satisfaction, body appreciation, appearance comparison, and appearance aspirations. Findings revealed more negative effects of fitspiration images on appearance satisfaction and body appreciation compared to all other conditions, which was true for both women and men. Further, appearance comparison did not emerge as a mediator of these effects, but partial support emerged for the role of appearance aspirations. Discussion centers on the potentially stronger effects of body positive images compared to written content and potential reasons why this was the case for both women and men. The need for more research on the promotion of positive body image in men is considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142869919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sex RolesPub Date : 2024-12-20DOI: 10.1007/s11199-024-01548-0
James Johnson, Cornelius J. König, John F. Dovidio, Kim Dierckx
{"title":"High White Racial Identity Predicts Low Allyship With a Black Female Sexual Harassment Complainant: The Critical Role of the Benevolence of a White Alleged Perpetrator","authors":"James Johnson, Cornelius J. König, John F. Dovidio, Kim Dierckx","doi":"10.1007/s11199-024-01548-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01548-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>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 (<i>N</i> = 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.</p>","PeriodicalId":48425,"journal":{"name":"Sex Roles","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142869922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}