Abstract
Is having children related to benevolent sexism? Two theoretical accounts—benevolent sexism as role justification and benevolent sexism as a mating strategy—suggest the possibility of a positive and bidirectional association. Gender disparities in childrearing could prompt inequality-justifying endorsement of benevolent sexism and/or endorsing benevolent sexism could promote traditional gender roles that facilitate having more children. We assessed the bidirectional associations between individuals’ number of children and their endorsement of benevolent sexism over a two-year period in a large national panel sample of New Zealanders (N = 6,017). Zero-inflated structural equation modeling indicated that having a greater number of children was associated with stronger endorsement of benevolent sexism two years later, but no evidence emerged for the reverse direction. This study illustrated ways to tentatively test predictions of theoretical accounts on sexism and identified new, though small, evidence for the role justification perspective.
Highlights
Investment in childrearing creates new demands for parents which coincide with increased socioeconomic inequalities
Our study makes two major contributions to the literature on benevolent sexism: First, we explore two theoretical accounts on the functions of benevolent sexism—which differ in their focus on one of the outcomes vs. one of the sources of gender inequalities—to build a comprehensive theoretical framework for the relationship between individuals’ reproductive outcomes and their endorsement of benevolent sexism
The present study examined the relationship between individuals’ number of children and their endorsement of benevolent sexism
Summary
Investment in childrearing creates new demands for parents which coincide with increased socioeconomic inequalities. According to ambivalent sexism theory, this inequality is linked with endorsement of benevolent sexism—subjectively positive and patronizing beliefs— toward women who invest in relationship-oriented and childrearing roles [6,7,8,9,10]. A role justification perspective suggests that gender beliefs emerge from existing inequalities in social roles [11, 12], and if parenthood coincides with experiences of inequalities, people are often motivated to endorse attitudes that legitimize, justify and maintain that inequality [13,14,15]. The roles and the associated gender inequalities of childrearing might foster endorsement of benevolent sexism. An evolutionarily-informed account proposes that endorsement of benevolent sexism generates the conditions for reproductive success in heterosexual relationships, such as by promoting traditional mate preferences and adoption of traditional gender roles [7, 16, 17].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
