Despite the important social, political and economic movements that lead to women's (and other sexual minorities') empowerment, gender discrimination and inequalities is a universal problem which exists everywhere in the world when we are nearing the 21st century. Think about the prevalence of domestic violence against women, systematic sexual abuse and rape of the military, the masculinization of science, politics and the state, the feminization of poverty, unfair treatment of women by law, or the persistence wage gap between men and women...These and many more that I have not been mentioned here are all social and cultural systems that are associated with the blatant side of sexism.
Yet, in our everyday lives we are affected by a different kind of sexism. It is the subtle kind of sexism, which is "a cluster of social expectations and practices that reinforce sex-based inequality." (Rhode, 2007, p., 613 in "the Subtle Side of Sexism"). Much research points to the pernicious consequences of subtle sexism, because of its unnoticed and undetectable nature unlike blatant or overt sexism. Drawing on feminist understandings of subtle sexism, Peel (2001) talks about subtle heterosexism, which is as difficult to understand and challenge as subtle sexism, because heterocentric assumptions are an integral and normative part of our social life ("mundane heterosexism").
There are a number of explanations to what may contribute to the persistence of sexism in everyday life (e.g., use of sexist language). For instance, it is argued that social control of religion and state patriarchy lead to the maintanence of gender inequality norms. In this chapter, we are going to focus on the cultural norms around honour as one of the perpetuators of sexism and heterosexism, and we are going to discuss how honour norms surrounding men and women are related to subtle sexism and gender stereotypes.
Definition of Honour and Dishonor
- a universal concept
- but its importance varies dramatically among cultures -- Where in the world is honour is a more salient social construction? honour cultures -- can also talk about some evolutionary accounts here.
Shame as a reaction to loss of honour and Anger as a reaction to broken honor
A vast amount of empirical research on honour has shown that honour is about building and maintaining reputation in one's immediate groups or in society. And that the costs of not abiding by the honour codes are large, including strong emotional reactions of shame and anger. The person who violates the honour code feels a strong sense of shame, and those whose honour is broken/threatened may react with strong sense of anger.
Gender-specific honour codes - Masculine and Feminine Honour
In the last half century, social psychological, anthropological and historical literature has documented that honour codes manifest themselves in gendered terms (Peristiany, Gilmour, etc.). That is, being honorable (having esteem, respect, prestige, and moral reputation) requires men and women to achieve their gender-specific goals. As such, "honor" can be thought of as a strong but subtle cultural force which leads men and women to maintain their masculinity and femininity by socially rewarding them for doing so, and thus makes gender stereotypes, sexism and heterosexism more resistant to be challenged and changed.
Cross-cultural research comparing individuals from honour vs. non-honour cultures has shown that Spanish participants showed more traditional sex-role attitudes with regards to marriage and sexuality than Dutch participants (Rodriguez-Mosquera, 1999). Researchers also demonstrated that honour beliefs are linked to sexual objectification, ambivalent sexism, and domestic violence against women and legitimization of male violence.
Research has shown that people who strongly believe in honor norms (i.e., people from an honour culture - Spanish people) also behave more in line with t
honour norms are linked with sexual objectification, a support for patriarchy, and legitimization of violence against women
That is, some codes of honor are more appropriate to men, whereas others are more appropriate to women. These are called as masculine and feminine honor, respectively. Masculine honour codes are associated with attributes like virility, prowess, assertiveness, dominance, and protection of the family, whereas feminine honour codes entail attributes like modesty, sexual shame, chastity, submission, and loyalty to men and family (construed as more passive rather than aggressive) (Rodriguez, 1999). These gender-specific honour codes closely represent the stereotypical image and characteristics of men and women.
Cross-cultural research showed that men and women in honour cultures tend to behave in line with their gender-specific honour codes more than those in non-honour cultures, especially in the domains of family and sexuality (e.g., Rodriguez Mosquera et al., 2002; Vandello & Cohen, 2003; Vandello et al., 2009)
There are a set of attributes which men and women have to follow separately to gain their much needed social and moral reputation. These are referred to as feminine and masculine honour in the literature. In the ethonographic (descriptive) research, masculine honour codes are associated with attributes like virility, prowess, assertiveness, dominance, and protection of the family, whereas feminine honour codes entail attributes like modesty, sexual shame, chastity, submission, and loyalty to men and family (construed as more passive rather than aggressive) (Rodriguez, 1999). REF? WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT MASC AND FEM HONOR HAVE THESE ATTRIBUTES - READ THAT SOURCE!
Even though considerable number of studies have been built on the distinction of the masculine and feminine honor ideals and how it affects women and especially men's behavior, findings of empirical research has been inconclusive. In her cross-cultural study with the Spanish (those from an honor culture) and Dutch participants (those from a non-honor culture), Rodriguez-Mosquera (2011) found that both Spanish and Dutch participants rated masculine honor attributes as more desirable for men, and feminine honor attributes as more desirable for women. However, it would be premature to conclude that people's preferences of masculine and feminine honor codes do not vary cross-culturally, as peoples' preferences do not always reflect their actual behaviors,
Previous research showed that men and women in honour cultures tend to behave in line with their gender-specific honour codes more than those in non-honour cultures, especially in the domains of family and sexuality (e.g., Rodriguez Mosquera et al., 2002; Vandello & Cohen, 2003; Vandello et al., 2009).
why gender stereotypes, subtle sexism and heterosexism may be resistant to change due to the strong force of honour norms entrenched in the culture
Introduction of my studies
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