Sexism is a term coined in the mid-20th century. It is the belief or attitude that one sex is inherently superior to, more competent than, or more valuable than the other. Sexism primarily involves hatred of, or prejudice towards, either sex as a whole, or the application of stereotypes of masculinity in relation to men, or of femininity in relation to women.
BENEVOLENT SEXISM
Benevolent sexism is a term which denotes “positive” ideas and attitudes of men towards women, which are based on the assumption that men must take care of and sacrifice themselves for women (Thaindian News, 2011). It is a chivalrous attitude toward women that feels favorable but is actually sexist because it casts women as weak creatures in need of men's protection (Yahoo! Answers). Like hostile sexism, it is an ideology that supports gender inequality, and in some ways benevolent sexism can be even more insidious.
Benevolent sexism may seem harmless, noble, or even "romantic," but studies suggest that benevolent sexist attitudes of men towards women in our society have negative impacts. Such affection or protection cannot be called as innocent since women are here assumed to be inferior to men.
Benevolent justifications for discrimination (e.g., "Women should forego a career because they excel at childcare") are more likely to be accepted than hostile justifications (e.g., "Women should forego a career because they lack ability"). However, women who are more likely than men to reject hostile sexism, they often endorse benevolent sexism -- especially in countries high in hostile sexism, where male protection is most appealing. Ironically, it may be that high levels of hostile sexism among men lead to high levels of benevolent sexism among womenHOSTILE SEXISM
Hostile sexism, as opposed to benevolent sexism, is a negative emotion directed specifically towards women, such as anger, resentment, etc. Hostile sexism has three sources: dominant paternalism, or a need to control women; competitive gender differentiation, which is an emphasis on the differences between women and men and a devaluation of women; and hostile heterosexuality is viewing sex a resource and women as controlling sex for their own purposes.
Hostile sexism is the type that results in men believing that women are inferior. Women are far more likely to be opposed to hostile sexism than men are. Hostile Sexism is the traditional idea of sexism involving negative feelings towards women. Individuals high in hostile sexism are more likely to endorse items such as “Women are too easily offended” and “Once a women gets a man to commit to her, she usually tries to put him on a tight leash.” High hostile sexists are likely to have less favorable attitudes towards women in a nontraditional role (career woman).
There is a correlation between hostile sexism and benevolent sexism in men, meaning that men who have hostile sexist attitudes, such as thinking a woman's place is in the kitchen, also tend to have benevolent sexist attitudes, such a believing women should be protected by men. According to Glick et al (2000), male dominance creates hostile sexism, but men's dependence on women fosters benevolent sexism--subjectively positive attitudes that put women on a pedestal but reinforce their subordination. Research done by Glick et al (2000) in a sample of 15,000 men and women from 19 nations showed that (a) hostile sexism and benevolent sexism are coherent constructs that correlate positively across nations, but (b) hostile sexism predicts the ascription of negative and BS the ascription of positive traits to women, (c) relative to men, women are more likely to reject hostile sexism than benevolent sexism, especially when overall levels of sexism in a culture are high, and (d) national averages on benevolent sexism and hostile sexism predict gender inequality across nations. These results challenge prevailing notions of prejudice as an antipathy in that benevolent sexism (an affectionate, patronizing ideology) reflects inequality and is a cross-culturally pervasive complement to hostile sexism.
