By Nichelle Wong 

Background

What’s your first reaction to a compliment? Do you smile modestly and brush it off? Do you accept it with a gracious “thank you” and let it brighten your afternoon? Praise may seem innocuous, but women and female-presenting individuals must deal with an invisible obstacle [1]. Ambivalent sexism is the idea that women may face two types of sexism: one that is explicit and harsh, and another that is subtle yet insidious. 

Definitions

When discussing sexism, certain terms need to be clarified. Sex is the biological characteristics between a “man” and a “woman,” whereas gender, which exists on a spectrum, is a socially defined construct that includes traditional social roles [2]. Most of the studies referenced in this article focus on sex-based discrimination.

Sexism is defined as discrimination against women based on sex, due to systemic inequalities that men generally do not face [3]. The terminology in most of these papers is restricted to binary gender categories, but the effects can also apply to female-presenting individuals—for example, someone who has female characteristics but identifies as nonbinary.

Ambivalent sexism specifically includes two types of sexism: hostile and benevolent sexism. Hostile sexism is when people are directly sexist through their remarks, actions, or words [3]. One strong example is the phrase “I hate women”. Or think of elementary school-aged boys in PE class: “Why am I stuck in the all girls’ team?” The implicit bias here is that girls are weaker than boys and therefore somehow less worthy as teammates.

On the other end of the spectrum, benevolent sexism is when women are elevated or put on a pedestal simply for identifying as women [3]. This can be through innocuous statements such as “Women are so pretty and polite” or “You’re doing great for a girl”. Benevolent sexism may seem paradoxical, but because it is different treatment on the basis of sex, it counts as discrimination. 

Highlights 

This is highlighted in the What Would You Do bike theft episode aired on ABC news, in which planted cameras revealed the reactions of observers to a bike thief. When a female actor was stealing the bike, many just questioned or watched rather than stopping her. One observer even commented that, because she was a woman, she didn’t seem like she would steal a bike. This may seem to be beneficial for women, but it undercuts them by implicitly assuming their lack of capability and, more dangerously, their propensity towards crime.

Paternalism is also tied to benevolent discrimination; it is the idea that men know best and have the duty to educate women [3, 4]. It is often used in descriptions of colonization, in which white men believed they had a duty to “civilize the natives” of the lands they invaded. The same can be applied to the sphere of sex and gender. Men who praise women for being women are implicitly asserting that women are somehow lesser and need men’s approval just to exist [4]. 

It is important to note that anyone can be sexist, regardless of their sex or gender. Additionally, people can unintentionally be sexist with no malicious intent, hence the need for increased awareness and advocacy toward this topic. Thus, it is important to call attention to potentially unconscious biases. 

Methods and Results

Researchers at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad conducted data analysis of potentially sexist tweets on Twitter. Based on the groundwork of ambivalent sexism, they used an algorithm to categorize tweets as either benevolent, hostile, or other (not relating to sexism) [3].

Compared to hostile tweets, there were more benevolently sexist tweets overall, but there were more unique hostile tweets. Benevolent tweets were retweeted more often, as Twitter users may have seen them as harmless. Thus, the same benevolently sexist tweets reappeared much more during the algorithm categorization [3].

Another study highlighted benevolent sexism’s insidious impacts on women. Female college undergraduates were given a questionnaire about their experiences with sexism. The researchers made comparisons between those who had faced sexism and those who had not. They were also asked how they might feel in certain sexist scenarios presented, both hostile and benevolent. Those who had not faced sexism assumed that they would be less impacted by benevolent sexism than those who had faced it in the past [5]. The study demonstrates that people do not recognize how much a sexist statement or event might affect them. 

Some may be puzzled as to why a compliment could be perceived as negative, perhaps criticizing women for being too “sensitive.” When analyzing this contradiction, researchers referred to an earlier study where female undergraduates seeking jobs listened to speeches about employment. The experimental groups heard speeches that included either benevolent or hostile sexism; the control group listened to a speech with neutral content [5]. 

Afterwards, when tested on memory tasks, women who faced benevolent sexism scored worse. The hypothesis was that benevolent sexism led to more self-doubt despite its seeming praise of women; it subconsciously undermines their belief in their abilities. Thus, this study is key in proving that benevolent sexism does have tangible effects [5].

French artist Emma illustrates this experiment in her comic on benevolent sexism. She provides examples of benevolent and hostile sexism that the employers might use: “Women don’t think logically” is hostile while “Women need to be protected by men” is benevolent [6].

She also provides other instances of benevolent sexism at one of her workplaces. Instead of being praised for her work, other employees complimented her clothing, which undermines her efforts [6].

Discussion 

Heterosexism, or the societal view of heterosexual relationships as “normal,” contributes to the issue as well. Gay men and men who are seen as effeminate face discrimination from both men and women. This demonstrates prejudice towards anyone with feminine behaviors regardless of gender or sex [1]. 

Interestingly, studies found that heterosexual individuals might be more ambivalently sexist than those in the LGBTQ+ community. The researchers sampled from respondents of the NZAVS, a New Zealand longitudinal study related to social attitudes. They had participants take an adapted version of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, an established test that measures ambivalent sexism [7]. 

They found that men as well as people who identified as heterosexual both tended to score higher on the ambivalent sexism scale. One potential reason is that both groups are part of the status quo. The researchers hypothesized that the current model benefits those who fit the norm and heterosexual relationships that match traditional gender roles [7].

Conclusion 

It is difficult to address benevolent sexism because many do not recognize it, and direct confrontation may lead to responses like: “I’m not being sexist, I’m praising women”. One way to address it is to point out the harmful effects and educate people about the potential harms [1]. Additionally, more research on addressing ambivalent sexism is needed [1]. Another factor to contemplate is how the situation has changed with the shifting gender binary in more recent years.

The literature provides detailed explanations of benevolent sexism. Leading researchers such as Susan Fiske and Peter Glick have provided much of the foundational work in the field of ambivalent sexism. They have co-written several academic papers on the subject. For more casual reads, there is “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman. For those interested in pursuing activism, there are local groups in many areas, such as clubs on college campuses, that promote feminism and women’s rights. 

Ambivalent sexism is an underlying issue that affects many people, but it is not mentioned enough. Women may passively accept and even encourage these comments without realizing or understanding their impact. As opposed to finger-pointing or blaming, we can work together to educate others to prevent this systemic issue. 

References

[1] Fiske S. Managing ambivalent prejudices: The smart-but-cold, and the warm-but-dumb stereotypes. National Library of Medicine (US). 2012 Jan; 639(1):33–48. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3792573/.  

[2] Newman, Tim [medically reviewed by Emelia Arquilla]. Sex and gender: What is the difference? MedicalNewsToday; 2021 May 11 [updated 2023 Mar 31]. Available from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363. 

[3] Jha A, Mamidi R. When does a Compliment become Sexist? Analysis and Classification of Ambivalent Sexism using Twitter Data. Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems (KCIS),

International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad; [circa 2017]. Available from:

 https://aclanthology.org/W17-2902.pdf.  

[4] Eckes T. Paternalistic and envious gender stereotypes: Testing predictions from the stereotype content model. Sex Roles [ProQuest]. 2002 Aug; 47(3/4):99-114. Available from:

https://www.proquest.com/docview/225368749?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true.  

[5] Bosson J, Pinel E, Vandello J. The Emotional Impact of Ambivalent Sexism: Forecasts Versus Real Experiences. Sex Roles, 2009 July 4; 62:520-531. Available from: https://rdcu.be/c7Ets. 

[6] Emma. Benevolent sexism: a feminist comic explains how it holds women back. Guardian. 2020 Aug 13. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/13/benevolent-sexism-a-feminist-comic-explains-how-it-holds-women-back.

[7] Cowie L, Greaves L, Sibley C. Sexuality and sexism: Differences in ambivalent sexism across gender and sexual identity. Personality and Individual Differences [ScienceDirect]. 2019 Oct 1; 148:85-89. Available from: https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0191886919303137?token=B88EF5F620ECCF4FD2B88970D272DFB4479452B34F1B754278D1F726DA2DB8C3CA18E433C77598A3B544FDD9443FFCA9&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20230315063614.