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Stereotypes in Attributions About Women's Gender-Based Mistreatment
Jessica M Kiebler1, Abigail J Stewart1
1University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
Violence Against Women
|July 21, 2021
Summary
Gender stereotypes impact women differently based on race and class. Mistreatment experiences, like sexual assault versus harassment, elicit varied responses concerning actions, living conditions, and education.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Sociology
- Gender Studies
Background:
- Gender stereotypes and biases disproportionately affect women.
- Intersectionality highlights how overlapping identities (race, class) shape experiences of discrimination.
- Understanding responses to gender-based mistreatment requires examining these intersecting factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how gender stereotypes influence perceptions of women experiencing gender-based mistreatment.
- To investigate the differential impact of race and class on these perceptions.
- To identify key themes emerging from responses to vignettes depicting women in varied social contexts.
Main Methods:
- Thematic content analysis was employed.
- 238 responses to vignettes featuring women of varying race and class identities were analyzed.
- Vignettes depicted scenarios of gender-based mistreatment, including sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Main Results:
- Three primary themes emerged: action/inaction, living conditions, and education.
- Sexual assault prompted more comments on the woman's actions/inaction compared to sexual harassment.
- Working-class women received more comments regarding living conditions than middle-class women.
- Education was a more prominent theme in sexual harassment accounts.
Conclusions:
- Perceptions of women experiencing gender-based mistreatment are significantly shaped by intersecting race and class identities.
- The type of mistreatment (sexual assault vs. harassment) influences the focus of judgmental responses.
- Societal stereotypes and biases manifest differently based on a woman's social position.
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