Men’s prejudice is approach-driven toward dominance while women’s is avoidance-driven
Evidence
It is, therefore, not the case that men should be the only agents of intergroup prejudice nor is it predicted that men will always exhibit more prejudice than women. Instead, we posit that both men and women are agents of prejudice, but that the character of this prejudice and its underlying motivations differ among men and women as a function of the different adaptive challenges each has faced over evolutionary time in the context of intergroup violence. Women are more motivated by threats to their reproductive choice, whereas men are more motivated to out-compete sexual rivals. In accordance with these motives, women’s out-group prejudice will be expressed via an avoidance strategy characterized by fear, whereas men’s prejudice will be expressed via an approach-oriented strategies characterized by aggression, violence, dominance, and social predation. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1196 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Women’s reverence for masculine law stems from powerlessness rather than judgment — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1743; Authoritarian prejudice springs from fear while dominance prejudice springs from appetite — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 1016; Defining prejudice solely as antipathy blindspots subtler forms of domination (+14 more)
Broader Connections
- Men and women express prejudice through different evolved strategies, fear versus aggression
#expands(0.95) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1196 - Conflict between disavowed prejudice and egalitarian values drives avoidance of interracial contact
#complicates(0.72)