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Through its many faces, humor may perpetuate inequalities and intergroup differences (disparagement humor) or, on the contrary, it may question such inequalities and differences and try to subvert hierarchies and social asymmetries (subversive humor). This research focuses on the kind of subversive humor that questions and confronts sexist ideology and behaviors and has come to be called subversive humor against sexism or feminist humor. Despite repeated allusions to the subversive function of this type of humor, no empirical evidence shows that subversive humor against sexism constitutes an empirical entity independent from other types of humor. After conceptually defining subversive humor against sexism, in Study 1, five experts analyzed the content validity of a pool of subversive humorous stimuli compared to stimuli from other humor categories (i.e., man disparagement humor and neutral humor). In Study 2 (n = 203), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) empirically isolated three related factors identified as subversive humor against sexism, man disparagement humor and neutral humor. Study 3 (n = 229) replicated these results through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and provided evidence on the specific relationships among this type of humor, feminist identity and collective actions for gender equality., Author(s): Andrés R. Riquelme [sup.1] , Hugo Carretero-Dios [sup.2] , Jesús L. Megías [sup.3] , Mónica Romero-Sánchez [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.4489.1, 0000000121678994, Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center [Centro [...]

Cyber-sexual violence is a prevalent and harmful form of aggression committed against women, yet little attention has been paid to the attitudes about cyber-sexual violence. This research therefore aimed to explore the negative attitudes or myths that serve to justify, minimize, and deny the experiences of cyber-sexual violence disclosed by women on Twitter. Using a thematic analysis, we analyzed 4,048 replies to 18 experiences reported on Twitter around the time of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. After the data were cleaned and coded, the results revealed 18 myths about cyber-sexual violence, grouped into four main themes: (1) minimization/conceptualization, (2) victim blaming, (3) factors related to the diffusion context, and (4) exonerating the perpetrator's responsibility. This study constitutes the first attempt to analyze the myths surrounding cyber-sexual violence on Twitter, including content areas not yet addressed in the literature, such as contextual factors. Strikingly, most of the analyzed reactions appeared to deny and downplay the importance of sexually aggressive behaviors perpetrated against women online, suggesting that these beliefs could influence the underreporting of cyber-sexual violence. Based on these data, it was concluded that while Twitter can serve as a useful "loudspeaker" for victims, it is also a mechanism by which myths about cyber-sexual violence can be supported and disseminated. Finally, it highlights the importance to consider the influence of online cultural frame on the social perception of cyber-sexual violence and point out the specific beliefs that educators, researches and psychologist could work though psychoeducational programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the cognitive function of myths about partner violence against women in the social perception of a case that caused a media frenzy in Spain: the documentary story 'Rocío Carrasco. Contar la verdad para seguir viva' ('Rocío Carrasco: Telling the Truth to Stay Alive'). We studied the relationship between these myths and the credibility and blame attributed to Rocío Carrasco. We also tested different explanatory mechanisms of these associations: the warmth/competence qualities of the victim and the different motivations attributed to her in the documentary (monetary, the quest for justice, revenge and emotional recovery). The results showed that the participants (N = 295) who adhered more to the myths attributed less credibility and more blame to Rocío Carrasco. Moreover, we found that her perceived warmth (but not her competence) and the attribution of different motivations mediated these relationships. Using a current media case, these findings enable us to learn more about both the cognitive function of myths about the perception of gender violence and possible explanatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexism is an increasingly prevalent problem in the gaming community. However, until now, assessment instruments focused on the construct "sexism against women gamers" are lacking. We present an eight-item self-report scale: Sexism Against Women Gamers Scale (SAWGS). We studied the reliability and validity of the scores of Spanish and English versions across five independent samples (N = 2,437), with participants from Spain and the United States. Scores on both versions demonstrated high reliability, while exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported their unidimensional structure. The analysis established configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender. SAWGS was invariant at the configural level across countries. SAWGS scores were independent of social desirability, positively correlated with myths about intimate-partner violence against women, sexism, and social dominance orientation, and correlated negatively with feminism. Using two fictitious scenarios of sexism in online gaming, we found that gamers with higher scores on SAWGS showed a greater tendency to downplay a sexist incident and proposed a less severe punishment for toxic gamers. The SAWGS explained additional variance on responses to scenarios beyond that explained by other measures. The detection of sexism should make it possible to develop programs for its eradication and avoid negative consequences for women gamers. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843231162837 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to sexist humor creates a context in which some men feel comfortable expressing aggressive tendencies toward women (i.e., self-reported rape proclivity). This is in part because this type of humor makes it easier for men who have antagonistic attitudes toward women to express their prejudice without fear of social reprisal. Besides, previous research has demonstrated the influence of motivational variables such as autonomy (initiation or regulation of intentional behavior based on free choice) and control (acting under external pressure) on aggression. We conducted two experiments to explore the hypothetical influence of priming autonomy and control motivations on the relation between sexist humor and the expression of sexually aggressive tendencies toward women. Study 1 (N = 108) revealed that control-primed men with high (vs. low) scores in hostile sexism reported a higher rape proclivity when exposed to sexist (vs. neutral) humor. These results were partially replicated in Study 2 (N = 132), assessing the accessibility of aggressive sexual thoughts. This research contributes to our understanding of the influence of sexist humor and motivational orientations in sexist men on the expression of aggressive sexual behaviors directed against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies addressed effects of the labels 'victim', 'battered woman' and 'survivor' on the perception of women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Spanish undergraduates provided free associations (Study 1; N = 54) and completed semantic differentials (Study 2; N = 142) regarding the labels. Results showed that the term 'survivor' evoked more positive associations and ratings than both 'victim' and 'battered woman', which did not differ from each other. At the same time, however, when asked directly, participants rated 'survivor' as the least appropriate term. These seemingly opposing findings replicate research on the terms' use in sexual aggression. Results were independent of individuals' acceptance of myths about IPV or knowing a woman who has experienced IPV. Implications for the use of specific language when communicating about IPV are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies analyzed the influence of victim behavior, drink type, and observer rape myth acceptance (RMA) on attributions of blame to victims of sexual assault. In Study 1, people higher in RMA blamed the victim more when she accepted rather than rejected the aggressor’s invitation to buy her a drink. In Study 2, we analyzed if the effects depended on who offered the invitation for a drink (a friend or aggressor). RMA was more closely related to victim blame when she accepted (vs. rejected) the offer of a drink from the aggressor. In both studies, drink type (alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic) did not interact with the other variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments examined the effect of sexist humor on men’s self-reported rape proclivity (RP). Pilot study demonstrated that people differentiate the five rape scenarios of Bohner et al.’s. RP Scale based on the degree of physical violence perpetrated against the victim. Experiment 1 demonstrated that men higher in hostile sexism report greater RP upon exposure to sexist jokes when a woman (vs. a man) delivers them, and that this effect is limited to rape scenarios depicting a moderate versus a high level of physical violence. Experiment 2 further demonstrated that the relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity in response to a moderately violent rape scenario after exposure to sexist humor generalizes beyond women in the immediate humor context to women as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to some magazines aimed at young male readers—lads’ mags—has recently been associated with behaviors and attitudes that are derogatory toward women, including sexual violence. In the present study, a group of Spanish adult men was exposed to the covers of a lads’ mag while a second group was exposed to the covers of a neutral magazine. Results showed that, compared with participants in the second group, participants who were exposed to covers of lads’ mags who also showed high rape myth acceptance and legitimized the consumption of such magazines reported higher rape proclivity in a hypothetical situation. These findings suggest the need to further explore the possible detrimental effects of some sexualized media that are widely accepted in many Western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual assault perpetrated by acquaintances in social/dating situations (such as parties, bars or sporadic encounters) is frequent among college students. With only a few exceptions, studies on this topic have been carried out using quantitative methodologies. Yet such work cannot capture the complexities of young people's perceptions of sexual assault. In this study we explored college students' talk about non-consensual sexual encounters. Fourteen Spanish undergraduate students took part in two single-gender focus groups, which were subjected to a thematic analysis. Six themes emerged from the analysis. Overall, there were differences between men and women in several themes, especially those related to the causes of sexual assaults. Women referred to miscommunication and socio-cultural factors, whereas men mentioned factors related to the perpetrator, such as his personality or the existence of a psychological disorder. Implications of these findings for reducing sexual assault against women and designing rape prevention programmes are discussed along with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]