Media as a Source of Sexual Socialization for Emerging Adults

This chapter examines the role of three medium types—television and films, music and music videos, and pornography—in the sexual socialization of emerging adults. For television/films and music/music videos, researchers have found that increased exposure to both is associated with more gendered sexual beliefs and more sexually permissive attitudes and expectations. There is also evidence that exposure to mainstream television and movies is related to a variety of sexual behaviors, including age at sexual debut, sexual experience, and risky sexual behaviors. The literatures on music/music videos and pornography share a common interest in sexism, reporting that both types of media exposure are related to sexist beliefs and lax perceptions of sexual aggression. Pornography consumption is also correlated with more negative body image and higher relational dissatisfaction, which have consequences for the quality of emerging adults’ sexual experiences.

Are We Getting Less Sexist? A Ten-Year Gap Comparison Analysis of Sexism in a Portuguese Sample

Widely and slowly, discrimination against women based upon gender has become socially unacceptable. However, less is known about how sexist beliefs have progressed in the last years and if we are responding to this social antagonizing of a sexist discourse. Our goal was to verify the existence of differences in ambivalent sexism and neosexism over a ten-year gap in a Portuguese adult sample and to assess possible modifications in the relationship between the variables. A cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted using two independent groups, with measures taken in 2009 and then in 2019. Both groups were invariant in terms of average age and proportion of sexes. Our results show a decrease in hostile and benevolent forms of sexism, while neosexism remains constant. The relationships between variables suggest that sexist beliefs are changing to accommodate subtler and modernized forms of sexism, like neosexism, that deny the existence of discrimination against women, resent discrimination complaints, and maintain a paternalistic view of women. Neosexism also seems to have a stronger correlation with hostile sexism than with benevolent forms of sexism in the male subsample. This relationship is stronger for the 2019 sample. These relationships suggest that sexism is more deeply rooted than we would like to admit and adapts to social discourse. Despite our best efforts, it is yet to be overcome.

Missing the Point: A Critical Reflection on Operation HONOUR and Reactions to Military Sexual Misconduct by Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces

While there has undoubtedly been progress made in regards to the inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ individuals as full members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), it is questionable as to whether the organizational culture has shifted since these efforts were initiated almost thirty years ago. This article argues that resistance to culture change is based in sexist beliefs and attitudes, which are most noticeable in discussions related to Operation HONOUR, the CAF initiative meant to purposefully change military culture in an effort to eliminate sexual misconduct. The article critically reflects on how the CAF has presented results from surveys aimed at examining the beliefs and perceptions of current serving members in regards to sexual misconduct in the military. It argues that the CAF is missing key points of analysis, particularly in failing to identify and analyse the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that make up a problematic and misogynistic military culture. To address this, the article presents a taxonomy of sexism to help understand the attitudes of soldiers and veterans. Based on this taxonomy and informed by long-term and ongoing ethnographic research, the article then outlines a spectrum of behavioural archetypes, namely: (1) allyship to victims, (2) willful blindness to the prevalence of and harms caused by military sexual misconduct, and (3) a negative and misogynistic response tied to what has been termed as toxic masculinity. Understanding these behaviours and their embeddedness in veterans’ self-perceptions and the military’s culture is key to achieving CAF culture change in the context of systemic sexual misconduct.

Creencias sexistas y actitudes de violencia de género. Situación de estudiantes universitario del área de la salud. Cartagena - Colombia

Introducción: La violencia contra la mujer es un problema que atenta contra la igualdad, el desarrollo y la paz social. Situación que se reconoce como factor asociado al deterioro en la calidad de vida de los individuos en la medida que se constituye en violación de los Derechos Humanos. Objetivo: Describir el grado de acuerdo o desacuerdo entre las creencias sexistas y las que conducen a la violencia en estudiantes del área de la salud de una Institución de Educación Superior de Cartagena. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo, transversal, la muestra calculada fue de 509 estudiantes, seleccionados mediante muestreo por conveniencia, se utilizó el cuestionario de Actitudes hacia el Género y la Violencia (C.A.G.V), el cuestionario se dividió en dos secciones, la primera, aborda datos sociodemográficos, la segunda, las creencias sexistas y violencia. Resultados: El factor con mayor desacuerdo y/o rechazo a las creencias sexistas es el factor 1 con un 79% de participantes en desacuerdo, los factores 2, 3 y 4 tiene presentan un alto porcentaje de desacuerdo y actitud indiferente en hombres y mujeres ante las creencias evaluadas. Conclusión: Se concluye que existen comportamientos que promueven la violencia, en este estudio se evidenció dominación, aislamiento y conductas que suelen pasar inadvertidas, es así como la violencia contra las mujeres ejercidas por sus parejas o ex parejas abre campos a importantes problemas de salud, problemas que han demostrado un desequilibrio del bienestar psicosocial a corto y/o a largo plazo. Introduction: Violence towards women is a problem that attempts towards equalness, the development of social peace. Situation that is acknowledged as a factor associated with the deterioration in the quality of life of the individuals as it is constituted a violation of human rights. Target: To describe the degree of agreement and disagreement between the sexist beliefs and those that lead students in the health area of superior education institution of Cartagena. Materials and methods: Descriptive study, cross-sectional the calculated sample was of 509 students, selected through convenience sampling, the questionnaire of attitudes towards gender and violence was used. (C.A.G.V), the questionnaire was divided in two sections, the first one, deals with social demographics the second, sexist beliefs and violance.Results: The factor with the most disagreement and rejected to sexist beliefs it is factor 1 with 79% of participants in disagreement, the factors 2,3,4 a high percentage is shown of disagreement and indifference in men and women to the evaluated beliefs. Conclusion: It is concluded that exists behaviors that promote violence, and this study was evidenced domination, isolation and conducts that pass unnotified, this is how violence against women done by the partner or ex-partner opens fields to important health issues; problems that have shown an unbalanced and well-being psychosocial in long and short term.

Masculine Norms and Infectious Disease: The Case of COVID-19

During the novel coronavirus pandemic, early data suggested that men were slightly more likely to contract COVID-19 than women, less likely to seek medical attention for the disease, and far more likely to die as a result of COVID-19. While several studies have explored this gender gap, none has attempted to isolate the psychological processes underpinning this phenomenon. In this research note, I suggest that sexism partly explains these differences. Using data from a large (N = 100,689) survey of American adults conducted between March and June 2020 by the Democracy Fund and the University of California, Los Angeles (Nationscape), I find that sexist beliefs, a component of masculine norms, are consistently the strongest predictor of coronavirus-related emotions, behaviors, policy attitudes, and ultimately contracting COVID-19. This study highlights how gender ideology can impact health and impede government public health efforts.