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Ambivalent Sexism and Power-Related Gender-role Ideology in Marriage

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Abstract

Glick-Fiske’s (1996) Ambivalent Sexism Inventory(ASI) and a new Gender-Role Ideology in Marriage (GRIM) inventory examine ambivalent sexism toward women, predicting power-related, gender-role beliefs about mate selection and marriage norms. Mainland Chinese, 552, and 252 U.S. undergraduates participated. Results indicated that Chinese and men most endorsed hostile sexism; Chinese women more than U.S. women accepted benevolent sexism. Both Chinese genders prefer home-oriented mates (women especially seeking a provider and upholding him; men especially endorsing male-success/female-housework, male dominance, and possibly violence). Both U.S. genders prefer considerate mates (men especially seeking an attractive one). Despite gender and culture differences in means, ASI-GRIM correlations replicate across those subgroups: Benevolence predicts initial mate selection; hostility predicts subsequent marriage norms.

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Acknowledgment

This research was sponsored by Chinese Ministry of Education’s Social Science Research Program (08JA630027) for the first author and by Princeton University’s research funds for the second author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    Zhixia Chen

  2. Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA

    Susan T. Fiske & Tiane L. Lee

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  1. Zhixia Chen
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  2. Susan T. Fiske
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  3. Tiane L. Lee
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Correspondence to Susan T. Fiske.

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Chen, Z., Fiske, S.T. & Lee, T.L. Ambivalent Sexism and Power-Related Gender-role Ideology in Marriage. Sex Roles 60, 765–778 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9585-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9585-9

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