The study “Hostile and Benevolent Sexism as Predictors of Male Infidelity” published in The Journal of Sex Research demonstrates that both overtly negative (hostile) and seemingly positive but ultimately condescending (benevolent) sexist attitudes are strong indicators of male infidelity. The research also reveals that women frequently underestimate the risk of infidelity posed by men who exhibit benevolent sexist behavior.
According to Science Direct, benevolent sexism includes valuing feminine-stereotyped attributes in females (e.g., nurturance) and a “belief that traditional gender roles are necessary to complement one another.” Benevolent sexism also includes the view known as paternalism that females need to be protected by males. Benevolent sexism contributes to gender inequality by limiting women’s roles. Thus, in the ambivalent sexism model, girls and women are punished for violating traditional gender norms (hostile sexism) and are reinforced for adopting traditional roles (benevolent sexism).
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Medical News Today explains hostile sexism refers to beliefs and behaviors that are openly hostile toward a group of people based on their sex or gender. Misogyny, or the hatred of women, is an example of hostile sexism.
“People who perpetuate hostile sexism want to preserve men’s dominance over women and people of other marginalized genders,” it says. “They typically oppose gender equality and may also oppose LGBTQIA+ rights, seeing these things as a threat to men and the systems that benefit them.”
According to the study, infidelity statistics reveal a sobering reality in American relationships. According to recent studies:
21% of men admit to cheating on their partners
13% of women report having affairs
These numbers highlight how common relationship infidelity is across the United States.
The effects of cheating can be devastating:
Emotional trauma
Damaged self-esteem
Severe trust issues
Relationship breakdown
Many couples struggle to overcome the aftermath of an affair. However, with professional help and commitment, some relationships can survive and even grow stronger after infidelity.
“Our study advances existing knowledge by showing that gender ideology regarding more generalized intergender relationships (i.e., men’s evaluations and stereotypes about women and not necessarily confined to one’s intimate relationship) can also predict infidelity,” the researchers wrote. “To the best of our knowledge, the current research is the first to highlight a unique role of men’s ambivalent sexism in predicting infidelity.”
So, the bottom line here is that all women need to beware and be aware. It is not always obvious if a man is sexist or not and, as with psychopaths, you need to pay close attention to their actions if you are to figure it out.
