How ‘Kind’ Sexism Screws Over Women in Relationships With Men
In the patriarchal world, even benevolent attitudes can be a wolf in sheep’s clothing
Sexism, defined as prejudice or discrimination based on one’s gender, can manifest itself in a myriad of ways. However, it’s often easiest to spot in its most antagonistic form.
Think of a guy who’s mentally stuck in the 1950s and every now and then feels the need to loudly proclaim that women don’t deserve to earn as much as men due to their inherent inferiority or that professionally successful women — especially those without kids — are a danger to society and not really ‘fully’ human at all. (If you’re struggling to imagine such a person, keep in mind that these examples are based on actual recent quotes from male public figures.)
In academic circles, these expressions of overtly negative beliefs toward women are known as hostile sexism. But there’s also another type of sexism that often flies under the radar because it has a seemingly more positive tone: benevolent sexism.
First described in 1996 by American psychologists Peter Glick and Susan Fiske as part of ambivalent sexism theory, benevolent sexism might indeed seem not that bad and perhaps even harmless, but, just like hostile sexism, it can and does negatively…
