Examples of Hostile Sexism

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(A) Despite the fact that there is an increasing number of women in the workforce, there are few in leadership positions. This is because of ambivalent sexism. There are two different types of ambivalent sexism: hostile and benevolent. A Hostile sexist is someone who as combative and antagonistic view towards a woman. He believes that women are trying to gain control over men using feministic views and their sexuality (which they are threatened by). Examples of hostile sexism: “Women do not appreciate everything that men do for them” or “Women use sex to gain power over men”. Hostile sexism punishes women who do not conform to social roles with aggression and hostility, and it rewards women who conform. Benevolent sexism is when a man believes in the traditional gender role and has a “chivalrous attitude”. The chivalrous man believes that women and weak and must be taken care of. Examples of benevolent sexism are: “women should be protected by men”; “women should be placed on a pedestal”. Benevolent sexists realize that women are very important in society as mothers and wives in society, so this perpetuates the “women are wonderful effect”. This discrimination paradox associates positive traits (such as being kind and caring) with women. This encourages benevolent sexism because men feel that they must take care and protect women. However, it should be noted that very few women are placed in this pedestal position (only those who conform to a man’s view of a feminine role).

(B) A descriptive stereotype is a belief someone has about the behaviors, roles and attributes that categorize men and women in society. These stereotypes help someone predict behaviors of each gender. This stereotyping perpetuates how men perce...

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... which are associated with communal traits, are occupied by women; CEO positions, which are associated with agentic traits, are occupied by men. Women who occupy typical female careers (nurses, teachers, receptionists etc.) have a problem with the “sticky floor” scenario. This refers to the fact that many of the female occupations offers few advancements in their field, so they are not able to progress or significantly increase their salary. Another problem women in the workforce face is the “glass ceiling” scenario in which women are only able to reach a certain level of management. This is to keep women submissive to men because they are not in higher levels of power. However, men who participate in female occupations encounter the “glass escalator” scenario, where men are promoted to higher levels of management before a woman, even if he is less qualified.

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