“Not Brain-washed, but Heart-washed”: A Qualitative Analysis of Benevolent Sexism in the Anti-Choice Stance

Benevolent and hostile sexism in a shifting global context

The theory of and research on ambivalent sexism - which encompasses both attitudes that are overtly negative (hostile sexism) and those that seem subjectively positive but are actually harmful (benevolent sexism) - have made substantial contributions to understanding how sexism operates and the consequences it has for women. It is now clear that sexism takes different forms, some of which can be disguised as protection and flattery. However, all forms of sexism have negative effects on how women are perceived and treated by others as well as on women themselves. Some of these findings have implications for understanding other social inequalities, such as ableism, ageism, racism and classism. In this Review, we summarize what is known about the predictors of ambivalent sexism and its effects. Although we focus on women, we also consider some effects on men, in particular those that indirectly influence women. Throughout the Review we point to societal shifts that are likely to influence how sexism is manifested, experienced and understood. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of these changes and specifying areas of enquiry that need to be addressed to continue making progress in understanding the mechanisms that underlie social inequalities.

Exploring the Relationship between Abortion Provision and Providers' Personal Pregnancy and Parenting Experiences

OBJECTIVE

Support for abortion rights is often portrayed as antithetical to valuing family. With abortion provider demographics trending toward younger and female physicians, we sought to understand the influence of personal experiences with parenthood and pregnancy on abortion provision.

STUDY DESIGN

We surveyed U.S. physicians who have provided abortions, recruited from listservs and online groups. We calculated descriptive statistics using Stata SE. We used an inductive editing approach in coding free-text responses to questions about the emotional and experiential interplay between pregnancy, parenthood, and abortion provision, iteratively developing and refining a codebook, and ultimately identifying common themes.

RESULTS

We collected qualitative data from 227 participants, the majority of whom were under age 40 (51.1%), female (93.0%), and OB/GYN physicians (75.8%). Qualitative analysis yielded four main themes. 1) Providers feel dissonance between the societal expectation of conflict between abortion provision and parenthood and their lived experiences. 2) Abortion providers' personal experiences with pregnancy and parenthood increase compassion and stimulate a stronger therapeutic bond. 3) Pregnant abortion providers are sometimes affected by the contrast between ending one pregnancy while advancing another; however, most providers are able to contextualize their patients' need for abortion separately from their feelings about their own pregnancies and children. 4) Providers feel their abortion work positively impacts their parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research demonstrates multiple effects of the interplay between abortion providers' personal reproductive experiences and their abortion provision, with a mutually positive overall relationship between parenting and abortion provision. Exploring this interaction could help to decrease stigma toward both abortion and abortion providers.

Women's Reproductive Health in Sociocultural Context

PURPOSE

The special issue on Women's Reproductive Health in Cultural Context covers multiple dimensions of women's reproductive health and how it might be shaped by cultural meanings, social and gender inequities, and power differentials, employing a variety of methodological approaches. On the one hand, it aims to bring to the forefront the conversation about how women's health is uniquely experienced and constructed in local settings, and on the other hand, it aims to draw broader conclusions from a perspective of interconnectedness of women and the shared issues that they face.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The special issue was initiated through a call for submissions and includes ten articles on the topic of women's reproductive health in cultural context.

CONCLUSIONS

The articles provide many insights into how the context in which they live can disadvantage women and endanger their health, as well as offer perspectives on women's resistance to disempowering and stigmatizing discourses and practices. It aims to be of interest to scholars in behavioral medicine, psychology, and other social sciences.

'Removed from humanity': a qualitative analysis of attitudes toward abortion providers in anti-abortion individuals in Canada

OBJECTIVE

The present study explores the content of abortion provider stigma.

BACKGROUND

Abortion stigma extends beyond women who have abortions to abortion providers. Previous analyses of anti-abortion bills and rhetoric have revealed stereotypes of abortion providers as dangerous and less trustworthy than other health professionals.

METHODS

We present a thematic analysis of one-on-one interviews about attitudes toward abortion providers with Canadian individuals (N = 21) holding an anti-abortion stance.

RESULTS

We found participants held two kinds of beliefs about abortion providers: (1) providers are agentic and intentional actors and (2) providers are non-agentic victims of a larger system. While the former subtype of provider was viewed with hostility and disgust, the latter was viewed with pity, with participants suggesting that restriction of abortion would be beneficial for provider well-being.

CONCLUSION

We document a new component of abortion provider stigma: the belief that abortion providers are harmed by abortion and that they are to be pitied for this. This 'abortion harms providers' attitude parallels recent anti-abortion arguments that abortion harms women. These stigmatising attitudes both construct the provider as untrustworthy and unable to properly care for women.

Sexist Ideology and Endorsement of Men’s Control Over Women’s Decisions in Reproductive Health

Feminist scholars have argued that men’s control over women’s reproductive autonomy is a central feature of male dominance. Building on recent research that shows sexist ideology informs support for restricting women’s reproductive autonomy, we examined the relation of sexism and the belief that men should be able to restrict the behavior of women. Study 1 ( N = 366 undergraduate psychology students in the United Kingdom) and Study 2 ( N = 281 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers in the United States) showed that controlling for various demographics and ideological measures (e.g., right-wing authoritarianism, support for abortion rights), hostile sexism was related to support for men having the right to prevent their pregnant partner from having an abortion. Further, hostile sexism was related to the endorsement of men’s right to withdraw financial support for the child if a woman chooses not to terminate her pregnancy. Hostile sexism was also uniquely related to support for men’s right to veto their female partner’s decisions during pregnancy and childbirth. The present studies show that hostile sexism is associated with perceptions that men have the right to constrain women’s reproductive choices. Our findings highlight the adverse pressures on women’s reproductive autonomy, including sexist ideology, and may suggest that practitioners should be mindful of this when assisting women in discussing reproductive questions. Further, by creating awareness about the different factors that shape the perception of men’s role in reproductive decisions, sexual health educators could potentially help affirm women’s autonomy in reproductive health. Additional online materials for this article (measures used in this study) are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684317744531 . Data files, together with syntax detailing the statistical analyses, are available at https://osf.io/vwjus/ . Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index