Does Sexism Mediate the Gender and Rape Myth Acceptance Relationship?

2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122091363
Author(s):  
D. J. Angelone ◽  
Nicole Cantor ◽  
Tiffany Marcantonio ◽  
Meredith Joppa
Keyword(s):  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Hostile Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Established Relationship ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Sexist Beliefs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Assault Prevention ◽  
Myth Acceptance

Compared with women, men tend to blame assault victims, exonerate perpetrators, and report higher levels of sexism and rape myths. The goal of the present study was to determine whether sexist beliefs mediate the established relationship between gender and rape myth acceptance in a sample of 626 college students. Results demonstrated that hostile sexism, complementary gender differentiation, and heterosexual intimacy mediated the relationship between gender and rape myth acceptance, suggesting that these attitudes play a role in victim blaming and have potential to inform the development of sexual assault prevention programs.

scholarly journals Psychometric properties of the polish updated Illinois rape myth acceptance scale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Ewa Łyś ◽  
Kamilla Bargiel-Matusiewicz ◽  
Tomasz Krasuski ◽  
Anna Studzińska
Keyword(s):  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Hostile Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Acceptance Scale ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Myth Acceptance

AbstractStereotyped beliefs concerning rape, called rape myths, are a global problem. The aim of the studies was to assess the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale which is used to assess rape myth acceptance. The tool has a high internal consistency (α = .92) and an overly good test-retest reliability (the It Wasn’t Really Rape subscale being one exception), The five-factor model fits the data better than the four-factor one. Both in the case of the four-factor and the five-factor models the brief version fits the data better than the full one. The study also demonstrated positive correlations of rape myth acceptance with right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, system justification, cultural conservatism, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, beliefs in biological origins of the differences between men and women and unjust world beliefs. The correlation between rape myth acceptance and beliefs in cultural origins of the differences between men and women was negative. The analyses suggest that the Polish Updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale is a reliable and valid tool and can be useful for further studies of rape myth acceptance.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Television Sports Exposure and Rape Myth Acceptance: The Mediating Role of Sexism and Sexual Objectification of Women

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 813-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Custers ◽  
Jenna McNallie
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Hostile Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Sexual Objectification ◽  
Sports Programming ◽  
Objectification Of Women ◽  
Myth Acceptance

Rape affects a large proportion of women in the United States but is one of the most underreported crimes. It is believed that rape myth acceptance contributes to low reporting rates. We tested whether television sports exposure was indirectly related to higher acceptance of rape myth beliefs. An online survey involving 465 undergraduate students showed that viewing TV sports was positively related to hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and sexual objectification of women. Through these variables, TV sports was indirectly and positively associated with rape myth acceptance. These results suggest that sports programming contributes to the perpetuation of rape myths in society.

Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Rape Myth Acceptance: Preliminary Findings From a Sample of Primarily LGBQ-Identified Survey Respondents

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corina Schulze ◽  
Sarah Koon-Magnin
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Male Rape ◽  
Acceptance Scale ◽  
Physical Resistance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Myth Acceptance

This study is among the first to examine the relationship between sexual orientation and rape myth adherence using a nationwide survey of primarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) respondents (n = 184). The more established Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale and a modified Male Rape Survey serve as the primary instruments to test both rape myth adherence and instrument-appropriateness. Results suggest that respondents were most likely to support myths that discredit sexual assault allegations or excuse rape as a biological imperative and least likely to support myths related to physical resistance. Consistent with previous work, men exhibited higher levels of rape myth adherence than women. Regarding sexual orientation, respondents who identified as queer consistently exhibited lower levels of rape myth adherence than respondents who identified as gay.

scholarly journals I Blame Therefore It Was: Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blaming, and Memory Reconstruction

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1269-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rael J. Dawtry ◽  
Philip J. Cozzolino ◽  
Mitchell J. Callan
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Causal Order ◽  
Reconstruction Process ◽  
Memory Accuracy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Myth Acceptance

We examined the causal order of relationships between rape myth acceptance (RMA), victim blaming, and memory reconstruction. In Study 1, RMA-congruent memory (or alternatively, victim blaming) mediated the relationship between RMA and victim blaming (memory reconstruction). In Study 2, similar relationships emerged between RMA, victim blaming, and memory reconstruction. Although no mediation of RMA occurred in Study 2 independently, a mini meta-analysis of Studies 1 and 2 data replicated both patterns of mediation observed in Study 1. In Study 3, memory accuracy for neutral details of a rape scenario was unrelated to RMA. Manipulating memory to be more (vs. less) RMA congruent had no effect on victim blaming (Study 4), although manipulating perceived victim blameworthiness (Studies 5 and 6) produced RMA-congruent memory reconstruction when the victim was more (vs. less) blameworthy. The results suggest that, via victim blaming, RMA motivates a memory reconstruction process that explains and justifies victim blaming after the fact.

scholarly journals The Chivalrous Bystander: The Role of Gender-Based Beliefs and Empathy on Bystander Behavior and Perceived Barriers to Intervention

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052091627
Author(s):  
Kristen Yule ◽  
Jill C. Hoxmeier ◽  
Kevin Petranu ◽  
John Grych
Keyword(s):  
Benevolent Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Hostile Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Bystander Behavior ◽  
Behavior Understanding ◽  
Skill Deficit ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Myth Acceptance

Despite substantial evidence demonstrating a relation between gender-based beliefs and violence against women, there has been little research examining whether sexist attitudes are related to prosocial bystander behavior. Understanding psychosocial influences on bystanders’ behavior could inform bystander training programs on college campuses, and so the current study examined the unique and joint effects of three gender-based attitudes (rape myth acceptance, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism) and empathy in predicting bystander behavior and perceived barriers to intervention in situations that undergraduates ( N = 500; 70% female; Mage = 18.86 years) had experienced in the prior year. Benevolent sexism was the only gender-based attitude consistently associated with bystander behavior and perceived barriers. After accounting for participant empathy, benevolent sexism uniquely predicted less intervention in post-assault situations, greater perceived barriers in pre- and post-assault situations, and greater Failure to Perceive Responsibility and Skill Deficit barriers across situations. Associations between gender-based attitudes and bystander behavior also differed for men and women, with rape myth acceptance predicting greater Failure to Perceive Responsibility barriers and benevolent sexism predicting greater Skill Deficit barriers for women but not men. These results suggest that existing bystander education programs can be improved by explicitly addressing benevolent sexist beliefs and promoting empathy for victims of assault.

scholarly journals Support for Capital Punishment for Rape Offenders as a Collective Retaliation against Honor Threat

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mete Sefa Uysal ◽  
Emir Üzümçeker ◽  
İnci Boyacıoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Death Penalty ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Ambivalent Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth Acceptance ◽  
Hostile Sexism ◽  
Rape Myth ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Myth Acceptance

Exploring the implications of benevolent and hostile sexism separately in social practice and their relationships with related issues such as rape myths is essential for understanding gender violence which serves to maintain structural gender inequalities, such as retaliatory acts in honor cultures. Although a vast majority of research focused on direct and interpersonal aggressive response or retaliatory acts against the honor threat in honor cultures, little is known about subtler collective social processes in honor-damaging situations. To address the gap in our understanding of how retaliatory responses are carried out against honor threat in a subtler and collective way, we focused on the rising demands for reinstatement of the death penalty to stopped the increased rates of sexual violence in Turkey as a collective retaliatory response against honor-threat. To test this argument, we conducted a survey study with 450 participants to examine the role of ambivalent sexism, the gendered norms of honor culture, and rape myths on the support for death penalty for rape offenders in Turkey. The results indicate that ambivalent sexism and honor culture’s gendered norms predicted support for capital punishment. Furthermore, hostile sexism moderated the relationship between rape myth acceptance and support for death penalty. We find that individuals who have high hostile sexism and strong rape myth acceptance do not support capital punishment. These findings contribute to our understanding of the social mechanisms related to hostile and benevolent sexism which results in support for the death penalty in Turkey.

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