The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy: Men Who Perceive Women's Nurturance and Sexuality as Mutually Exclusive Endorse Patriarchy and Show Lower Relationship Satisfaction

Bareket, Orly; Kahalon, Rotem; Shnabel, Nurit; Glick, Peter

doi:10.1007/s11199-018-0895-7

Original Article
Published: 02 February 2018

The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy: Men Who Perceive Women's Nurturance and Sexuality as Mutually Exclusive Endorse Patriarchy and Show Lower Relationship Satisfaction

Orly Bareket ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3464-0893¹^na1,
Rotem Kahalon¹^na1,
Nurit Shnabel¹ &
Peter Glick²

Sex Roles volume 79, pages 519–532 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy (MWD) denotes polarized perceptions of women in general as either “good,” chaste, and pure Madonnas or as “bad,” promiscuous, and seductive whores. Whereas prior theories focused on unresolved sexual complexes or evolved psychological tendencies, feminist theory suggests the MWD stems from a desire to reinforce patriarchy. Surveying 108 heterosexual Israeli men revealed a positive association between MWD endorsement and patriarchy-enhancing ideology as assessed by Social Dominance Orientation (preference for hierarchical social structures), Gender-Specific System Justification (desire to maintain the existing gender system), and sexist attitudes (Benevolent and Hostile Sexism, Sexual Objectification of Women, and Sexual Double Standards). In addition, MWD endorsement negatively predicted men’s romantic relationship satisfaction. These findings support the feminist notion that patriarchal arrangements have negative implications for the well-being of men as well as women. Specifically, the MWD not only links to attitudes that restrict women’s autonomy, but also impairs men’s most intimate relationships with women. Increased awareness of motives underlying the MWD and its psychological costs can help practice professionals (e.g., couple therapists), as well as the general public, to foster more satisfying heterosexual relationships.

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The first and second authors contributed equally to this manuscript; the order of their names is alphabetical.

Authors and Affiliations

The School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
Orly Bareket, Rotem Kahalon & Nurit Shnabel
Department of Psychology, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, USA
Peter Glick

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Orly Bareket
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Rotem Kahalon
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Nurit Shnabel
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Peter Glick
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Correspondence to Orly Bareket.

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Bareket, O., Kahalon, R., Shnabel, N. et al. The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy: Men Who Perceive Women's Nurturance and Sexuality as Mutually Exclusive Endorse Patriarchy and Show Lower Relationship Satisfaction. Sex Roles 79, 519–532 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0895-7

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Published: 02 February 2018
Issue Date: November 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0895-7

Keywords

Madonna-whore dichotomy
Sexism
Social dominance orientation
Gender-specific system justification
Gender attitudes
Relationship satisfaction