In the wake of #MeToo and other feminist movements, if you ask people today whether they support gender equality, most will say yes. As successive waves of feminist activism have brought gender equality to the forefront, making it more visible and widely discussed while challenging sexist mindsets and patriarchal structures, inequalities nonetheless persist. Psychology offers an important explanation: sexism has not disappeared; it has changed its form. It is no longer expressed only through open hostility, but also through attitudes that sound positive, moral, and even supportive. These more covert forms of sexism may pose an even greater obstacle to achieving gender equality. For this reason, it is essential to understand what these newer and subtler forms of sexism are and how they operate.
What Psychologists Mean By Sexism
In psychological research, sexism refers to beliefs and attitudes that justify or maintain unequal gender relations. Earlier approaches treated sexism as straightforward prejudice, but this understanding shifted with Ambivalent Sexism Theory (Glick & Fiske, 1996). This framework shows that sexism is not only about overtly presented dislike or hostility, but also about seemingly positive beliefs that reinforce traditional gender roles.
Hostile and Benevolent Sexism
Ambivalent Sexism Theory distinguishes between two complementary forms. Hostile sexism includes overtly negative beliefs, such as the idea that women are less competent or too emotional for leadership. Expressions like “Women are too easily offended,” “Women seek to control men through feminist demands,” “Women use sex to manipulate men,” and “Women exaggerate problems at work to get attention” are relatively easy to identify because they openly present prejudiced attitudes and challenge women’s abilities or legitimacy.
Benevolent sexism, in contrast, is more subtle. It portrays women as pure, warm, moral, and deserving of protection, but also as fragile and dependent. Statements like “women should be cherished and protected” or “a good man provides for his partner” may sound respectful, yet they imply inequality by reinforcing dependence. On the other hand, expressions like “a good woman should set a man’s mind at ease” reinforces compliance with expectations. Importantly, these two forms work together: hostile sexism punishes those who deviate from traditional roles, while benevolent sexism idealizes females in traditional roles by rewarding those who conform (Glick & Fiske, 1996).
Why Women Sometimes Prefer It
This positive tone also helps explain why benevolent sexism can be attractive, especially in romantic contexts. Studies have found that women sometimes evaluate benevolently sexist men more positively, particularly when traits like protectiveness or provision are interpreted as signs of care (Gul & Kupfer, 2019). These authors found that, women find benevolently sexist attitudes -coated in paternalism and chivalry- attractive in a potential partner, because they signal willingness to invest (i.e., protect, provide, and commit). These preferences do not mean that inequality is desired, but they show how deeply these norms are embedded in expectations about relationships despite having awareness of the harmful consequences.
A Newer Form: Gender-Equal Sexism
More recent work suggests that sexism has adapted to a world where equality is widely endorsed. He (2025) introduces the idea of gender-equal sexism, which captures how people can support equality in principle while subtly maintaining traditional gender roles.
Instead of rejecting equality, this perspective reframes it. For example, people may argue that men and women are “equally valuable but naturally suited to different roles,” or that traditional arrangements reflect free choice rather than constraint. These views avoid explicit hierarchy, making them harder to challenge, yet they can still reproduce inequality by normalizing role differences. In this way, sexism becomes aligned with the language of fairness rather than openly opposing it.
Why Sexism Remains A Threat To Gender Equality
Sexism remains a powerful barrier to gender equality not simply because it exists, but because it actively shapes decisions, opportunities, and social expectations in ways that accumulate into structural inequality. Subtle forms of sexism are particularly effective because they influence behavior without appearing aggressive and discriminatory, making them harder to detect and resist (He, 2025).
One key mechanism is the reinforcement of gender roles in everyday decision-making. When women are viewed as naturally more caring or nurturing, they are steered toward unpaid or lower-paid care roles at home and in the labor market. Choices such as reducing work hours for caregiving may appear voluntary, yet they are shaped by societal expectations that men prioritize work and women prioritize family, contributing over time to gender gaps in income, career advancement, and pension security. A second mechanism operates in professional contexts, where benevolent beliefs lower expectations and limit opportunities: women perceived as needing protection or work–life accommodations may be passed over for leadership roles or high-responsibility projects. While framed as considerate, such decisions systematically restrict career progression and reinforce male dominance in positions of power.
These dynamics are further reinforced at the cultural and political level. Research on anti-gender movements shows that opposition to gender equality is often framed in terms of protecting children, family values, or national identity, rather than explicitly rejecting equality (Paternotte & Kuhar, 2017). These framing shifts public debate away from structural inequality and toward moralized conflicts, making it more difficult to identify the discriminatory implications of such positions. For this reason, sexism that “sounds nice” is not merely a softer version of prejudice; it is a mechanism that stabilizes inequality by embedding it in norms, expectations, and moral narratives. Understanding these processes is essential, because gender inequality today is less often enforced through explicit exclusion and more often maintained through patterns that appear reasonable, voluntary, and even fair.
References
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491
Gul, P., & Kupfer, T. R. (2019). Benevolent Sexism and Mate Preferences: Why Do Women Prefer Benevolent Men Despite Recognizing That They Can Be Undermining? Personality & social psychology bulletin, 45(1), 146–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218781000
He, R. (2025). Gender-equal sexism: a covert and subtle form of gender discrimination. Feminist Media Studies, 25(4), 1001-1017. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2024.2335664
Paternotte, D., & Kuhar, R. (2017). ‘Gender ideology’ in movement: Introduction. Kuhar and Paternotte, 1-22.