Standpoints and Situatedness: Examining the Perception of Benevolent Sexism in Black and White Undergraduate Women and Men

Racial differences in benevolent sexism have been underexplored. To address this gap, we used standpoint theory as a framework to examine race-gender group differences in the endorsement of benevolent sexism and how cultural factors (i.e., egalitarianism, religiosity, and racial identity) and inequality factors (i.e., experiences with racial discrimination and support for social hierarchies) might mediate this relationship. Among 510 Black and white undergraduate women and men, we found racial differences, such that Black women and men had higher endorsement of benevolent sexism than white women and men. Further, there was a gender difference for only white participants, with white men endorsing these attitudes more than white women. For Black women, religiosity and racial identity mediated the relationship between their race-gender group and greater benevolent sexism compared to white women, but only religiosity mediated the relationship for Black men. Neither inequality mediator accounted for benevolent sexism differences; however, both were associated with white women’s lower benevolent sexism, as was egalitarianism. Given these findings, we discuss implications for benevolent sexism theory, the possibility that cultural factors may shape Black women and men’s standpoint by establishing group-based norms and expectations around benevolently sexist behavior, and suggest culturally appropriate methods to reduce sexism.

Which representations of their gender group affect men’s orientation towards care? the case of parental leave-taking intentions

Men are currently underrepresented in traditionally female care-oriented (communal) engagement such as taking parental leave, whereas they are overrepresented in traditionally male (agentic) engagement such as breadwinning or leadership. We examined to what extent different prototypical representations of men affect men’s self-reported parental leave-taking intentions and more generally the future they can imagine for themselves with regard to work and care roles (i.e., their possible selves). We expected prototypes of men that combine the two basic stereotype dimensions of agency and communion to increase men’s communal intentions. In two experiments (N1 = 132, N2 = 233), we presented male participants with contrived newspaper articles that described the ideal man of today with varying degrees of agency and communion (between-subjects design with four conditions; combined agentic and communal vs. agentic vs. communal vs. control condition). Results of Experiment 1 were in line with the main hypothesis that especially presenting a combination of agency and communion increases men’s expectations for communal engagement: As compared to a control condition, men expected more to engage in caretaking in the future, reported higher parental leave-taking intentions, and tended to expect taking longer parental leave. Experiment 2 only partially replicated these findings, namely for parental leave-taking intentions. Both experiments additionally provided initial evidence for a contrast effect in that an exclusive focus on agency also increased men’s self-reported parental leave-taking intentions compared to the control condition. Yet, exclusively emphasizing communion in prototypes of men did not affect men’s communal intentions, which were high to begin with. We further did not find evidence for preregistered mechanisms. We discuss conditions and explanations for the emergence of these mixed effects as well as implications for the communication of gendered norms and barriers to men’s communal engagement more broadly.

Dietary and serum tyrosine, white matter microstructure and inter-individual variability in executive functions in overweight adults: relation to sex/gender and age

Tyrosine (tyr), the precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine, is known to modulate cognitive functions including executive attention. Tyr supplementation is suggested to influence dopamine-modulated cognitive performance. However, results are inconclusive, regarding the presence or strength and also the direction of the association between tyr and cognitive function. This pre-registered cross-sectional analysis investigates whether diet-associated serum tyr relates to executive attention performance, and whether this relationship is moderated by differences in white matter microstructure. 59 healthy, overweight, young to middle-aged adults (20F, 28.3 ± 6.6 years, BMI: 27.3 ± 1.5 kg/m2) drawn from a longitudinal study reported dietary habits, donated blood and completed diffusion-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging and the attention network test. Main analyses were performed using linear regressions and non-parametric voxel-wise inference testing.Confirmatory analyses did neither support an association between dietary and serum tyr nor a relationship between relative serum tyr/large neutral amino acids (LNAA) levels or white matter microstructure and executive attention performance. However, exploratory analyses revealed higher tyr intake, higher serum tyr and better executive attention performance in the male sex/gender group. In addition, older age was associated with higher dietary tyr intake and lower fractional anisotropy in a widespread cluster across the brain. Finally, a positive association between relative serum tyr/LNAA and executive attention performance was found in the male sex/gender group when accounting for age effects.Our analysis advances the field of dopamine-modulated cognitive functions by revealing sex/gender and age differences which might be diet-related. Longitudinal or intervention studies and larger sample sizes are needed to provide more reliable evidence for links between tyr and executive attention.

On the Way to Women's Citizenship in Russia: the 1860s-1917

This article examines the development of Russian women's citizenship from the standpoint of the theory of citizenship and describes the main directions and milestones of its formation on the historical material. The article proves that the main subjects of the setting up of women's citizenship on the one hand are the women's, feminist, suffragist movement, which put the problems of its social (gender) group before the authorities and sought their solution. On the other hand, there are ‘broad masses of women’, i.e. women of various classes and social groups, who, by changing their daily practices, actually expanded their civil rights and duties. The History of Russian Women as a historical discipline in recent years has accumulated significant factual material about various aspects of the life of Russian women, which made possible such a historical and sociological analysis of the phenomenon of women's citizenship in Russia.

The Use of Metadiscursive Markers in Letters of Recommendation: An Investigation of Gender Variations

This study aimed to investigate gender variations in letters of recommendation. It used the metadiscourse theory with respect to the following resources: hedges, boosters, attitude markers, engagement markers, and self-mentions. The findings showed that hedges devices were the least frequent in both groups, but at the same time were used more by males compared to female recommenders. Boosters, on the other hand, were highly frequent in both corpora and, like hedges, were employed more frequently in the male group. Interestingly, while both gender groups shared using specific hedging and boosting tokens, each gender group appeared to favor using certain devices. The attitude markers were the most frequent in the two samples and appeared more in the female group. Similarly, while both groups used specific attitude markers, each gender group seemed to use specific attitude markers. The engagement markers revealed the highest divergence between the two groups, as they appeared more frequently in female letters. Finally, both gender groups employed self-mentions equally, but female letters seemed to favor using the plural forms. The study closes with some pedagogical implications by highlighting how the theory of metadiscourse can be of importance for academics.

The Use of Metadiscursive Markers in Letters of Recommendation: An Investigation of Gender Variations

This study aimed to investigate gender variations in letters of recommendation. It used the metadiscourse theory with respect to the following resources: hedges, boosters, attitude markers, engagement markers, and self-mentions. The findings showed that hedges devices were the least frequent in both groups, but at the same time were used more by males compared to female recommenders. Boosters, on the other hand, were highly frequent in both corpora and, like hedges, were employed more frequently in the male group. Interestingly, while both gender groups shared using specific hedging and boosting tokens, each gender group appeared to favor using certain devices. The attitude markers were the most frequent in the two samples and appeared more in the female group. Similarly, while both groups used specific attitude markers, each gender group seemed to use specific attitude markers. The engagement markers revealed the highest divergence between the two groups, as they appeared more frequently in female letters. Finally, both gender groups employed self-mentions equally, but female letters seemed to favor using the plural forms. The study closes with some pedagogical implications by highlighting how the theory of metadiscourse can be of importance for academics.

Women Friendly Mosque in Banda Aceh: A Study of the Concept of Gender Justice and Gender Planning Perspective

This paper analyzed how several mosques as a public space are not friendly to one gender group. Mosques as public spaces should be accessible to everyone and must accommodate the needs of all gender groups. This study seeks to see how the spatial arrangement that is not friendly to women impacts the comfort of women to worship in the mosque. In addition, this study also tries to analyze mosques in Banda Aceh, which are considered gender-responsive. This study uses qualitative methods with in-depth interviews and uses gender planning theory as an analytical tool. This study found several findings. First, the comfort and discomfort related to the arrangement of space and facilities are experienced by female congregations and male congregations. Second, assumptions that affect spatial planning and facilities have discriminated against one gender group. Third, mosques in Aceh are generally intended for men; this results in the layout of the mosque not accommodating the needs of women.

Gender and the Commons

Studies on common pool resource governance have largely focused on men, who tend to have disproportionate rights and ownership with regards property and resources. This has resulted in the access and control rights of women being generally overlooked. Gender disaggregated analyses have revealed the important role of women in the governance of the commons. While certain commons may be relatively more important for women, there are variations in their level of resource access and management role, influenced by social structures and divisions. We examined the role of gender and how such intersectionality could shape the governance of the commons in the Spiti Valley in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. We found that gender, class, and caste intersected in the governance of irrigation water. Our study highlights the role of women in the governance of the commons and points to the nuanced and variable roles found within this gender group.