It's for Your Own Good: Benevolent Sexism and Women's Reactions to Protectively Justified Restrictions
Miguel Moya1,
Peter Glick2*,
Francisca Expósito1,
Soledad de Lemus1,
and
Joshua Hart2
1 Universidad de Granada
2 Lawrence University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: glickp{at}lawrence.edu.
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Abstract |
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Three studies examined women's reactions to ostensibly protective restrictions. In Study 1, only benevolently sexist women accepted a protectively justified (hypothetical) prohibition against driving on a long trip, but only when imposed by a husband (not a coworker). In Study 2, when women's actual romantic partners opposed their participation in a practicum counseling dangerous men, most reacted positively to a personalized protective justification ("I am concerned for your safety"), but only benevolently sexist women reacted positively when no justification was given. In Study 3, only benevolently sexist women accepted an explicitly group-based protective justification ("It is not safe for any woman") for a partner's imagined opposition to an internship that involved interviewing criminals. By fusing benevolence with dominance, protective paternalism can lead women (especially those who are high on benevolent sexism) to accept restrictions.