The Influence of Perceiver and Target Race in Hostile and Benevolent Sexist Attitudes

The present research investigates whether benevolent and hostile sexist attitudes are differentially directed toward Black and White women by Black and White people. Participants ( N = 2,775) reported on their sexist attitudes while thinking about Black women, White women, or women in general. Although Black participants reported higher levels of benevolent and hostile sexism overall, participant race and target race interacted to produce unique patterns of sexist attitudes. More specifically, Black perceivers thinking of White women reported higher levels of hostile sexism than those thinking of Black women. White perceivers reported similar amounts of hostile sexism while thinking of White and Black women. Benevolent sexism showed a different pattern, with both Black and White participants reporting higher levels of benevolent sexism toward Black than White women. The results also revealed similar levels of sexism reported while thinking of White women and while thinking of women in general, suggesting that sexism research that does not specifically address target race may reflect an understanding of sexist attitudes about White women that may not generalize to other racial groups.