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How Sexy are Sexist Men? Women’s Perception of Male Response Profiles in the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory

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Abstract

In Studies 1 to 3, German female students (total N = 326) rated the likability and typicality of male targets: a nonsexist, a benevolent sexist, a hostile sexist, and (in Studies 2 and 3) an ambivalent sexist. When targets were presented as response profiles in the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick and Fiske 1996) (Studies 2 and 3), the benevolent sexist was rated to be most likable but least typical, whereas the ambivalent sexist was rated to be highly typical. Thus, women were aware of a link between benevolent and hostile sexism and approved of men’s benevolent sexism, especially when it was not paired with hostile sexism. Likability ratings were moderated by participants’ own benevolent sexism and feminist attitude.

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Acknowledgements

Preliminary reports of this research were given as invited presentations at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile (September 2004), the University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany (June 2006), the University of Basel, Switzerland (April 2007), the University of Magdeburg, Germany (May 2007), the Universities of Cape Town and Pretoria, South Africa (August 2007), and the University of Graz, Austria (March 2008). We thank Caroline Erdmann for her help with the data collection and analyses in Study 1, and the "Astoria" cinema, Bielefeld, for providing free tickets as incentives for participants in Study 2. Thanks also to Friederike Eyssel and Nina Vanselow, who provided helpful comments on a previous draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Gerd Bohner, Katrin Ahlborn & Regine Steiner

  2. Abteilung für Psychologie, Universität Bielefeld, Postfach 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany

    Gerd Bohner

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  1. Gerd Bohner
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  2. Katrin Ahlborn
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  3. Regine Steiner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerd Bohner.

Appendix

Appendix

German Items Used to Assess Participants’ Benevolent Sexism and Hostile Sexism and to Construct Male Sexism Profiles

Numbers correspond to item numbers in Glick and Fiske (1996). No item numbers were presented to participants.

Abbreviations in parentheses pertain to Studies 2 and 3: PA=item was used in version A of profiles; PB=item was used in version B of profiles; QA=item was used in version A of participant questionnaire; QB=item was used in version B of participant questionnaire.

  1. 1.

    Egal wie erfolgreich ein Mann auch sein mag, ohne eine Frau, die ihn liebt, fehlt ihm etwas sehr Wichtiges. (PA, QB)

  2. 2.

    Viele Frauen versuchen unter dem Deckmantel der Gleichberechtigung, besondere Vergünstigungen zu erlangen, z. B. eine Bevorzugung bei der Besetzung der Arbeitsstelle. (PB, QA)

  3. 3.

    Bei einer Katastrophe sollten Frauen vor Männern gerettet werden. (PB, QA)

  4. 4.

    Die meisten Frauen interpretieren harmlose Äußerungen oder Handlungen als frauenfeindlich. (PA, QB)

  5. 5.

    Frauen sind zu schnell beleidigt. (PA, QB)

  6. 6.

    Man kann in seinem Leben erst richtig glücklich sein, wenn man einen Partner hat, den man liebt. [Modified in Studies 1 and 3 to enhance clarity of meaning: Ein Mann kann in seinem Leben erst richtig glücklich sein, wenn er eine Partnerin hat, die er liebt.] (PA, QB)

  7. 7.

    Was Feministinnen wirklich wollen, ist, dass Frauen mehr Macht bekommen als Männer. (PB, QA)

  8. 8.

    Viele Frauen besitzen eine Art von Ehrlichkeit, die nur wenige Männer besitzen. (QA, QB)

  9. 9.

    Frauen sollten von Männern umsorgt und beschützt werden. (PA, QB)

  10. 10.

    Die meisten Frauen sehen gar nicht, was Männer alles für sie tun. (PB, QA)

  11. 11.

    Frauen versuchen, Macht zu erlangen, indem sie Männer immer mehr beherrschen. (QA, QB)

  12. 12.

    Jeder Mann sollte eine Frau haben, die er wirklich liebt. (PA, QB)

  13. 13.

    Männer sind ohne Frauen unvollkommen. (PB, QA)

  14. 14.

    Frauen übertreiben Probleme, die sie am Arbeitsplatz haben. (PA, QB)

  15. 15.

    Hat eine Frau erst mal einen Mann ”rumgekriegt“, dann versucht sie, ihn an die kurze Leine zu legen. (PB, QA)

  16. 16.

    Wenn Frauen in einem fairen Wettkampf gegenüber Männern den Kürzeren ziehen, behaupten sie gerne, sie seien diskriminiert worden. (PA, QB)

  17. 17.

    Eine Frau sollte von ihrem Mann auf Händen getragen werden. (PA, QB)

  18. 18.

    Viele Frauen haben Spaß daran, mit Männern zu “spielen“, indem sie sich erst verführerisch geben, und dann aber die Annäherungsversuche der Männer zurückweisen. (PB, QA)

  19. 19.

    Verglichen mit Männern haben Frauen das bessere moralische Empfinden. (PB, QA)

  20. 20.

    Ein Mann sollte bereit sein, sein eigenes Wohl zu opfern, um für seine Frau zu sorgen. (PB, QA)

  21. 21.

    Feministinnen stellen an Männer vollkommen überzogene Forderungen. (PA, QB)

  22. 22.

    Verglichen mit Männern haben Frauen einen feineren Sinn für Kultur und einen besseren Geschmack. (PA, QB)

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Bohner, G., Ahlborn, K. & Steiner, R. How Sexy are Sexist Men? Women’s Perception of Male Response Profiles in the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. Sex Roles 62, 568–582 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9665-x

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