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The Misandry Myth: An Inaccurate Stereotype About Feminists’ Attitudes Toward Men

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  • Aífe Hopkins-Doyle
  • Aino L. Petterson
  • Hannah Zibell
  • Phatthanakit Chobthamkit
  • Sharmaine Binti Abdul Rahim
  • Jemima Blake
  • Cristina Bosco
  • Kimberley Cherrie-Rees
  • Ami Beadle
  • Victoria Cock
  • Hazel Greer
  • Antonina Jankowska
  • Kaitlin Macdonald
  • Alexander Scott English
  • Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG
  • Ryosuke Asano
  • Peter Beattie
  • Allan B.I. Bernardo
  • Chinun Boonroungrut
  • Anindita Chaudhuri
  • Chin Lung Chien
  • Hoon Seok Choi
  • Lixian Cui
  • Hongfei Du
  • Kei Fuji
  • Hidefumi Hitokoto
  • Junko Iida
  • Keiko Ishii
  • Ding Yu Jiang
  • Yashpal Jogdand
  • Hyejoo J. Lee
  • Nobuhiro Mifune
  • Chanki Moon
  • Aya Murayama
  • Jinkyung Na
  • Kim One
  • Joonha Park
  • Kosuke Sato
  • Suryodaya Sharma
  • Eunkook M. Suh
  • Arun Tipandjan
  • Robbie M. Sutton
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/03/2024
<mark>Journal</mark>Psychology of Women Quarterly
Issue number1
Volume48
Number of pages30
Pages (from-to)8-37
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date7/11/23
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In six studies, we examined the accuracy and underpinnings of the damaging stereotype that feminists harbor negative attitudes toward men. In Study 1 (n = 1,664), feminist and nonfeminist women displayed similarly positive attitudes toward men. Study 2 (n = 3,892) replicated these results in non-WEIRD countries and among male participants. Study 3 (n = 198) extended them to implicit attitudes. Investigating the mechanisms underlying feminists’ actual and perceived attitudes, Studies 4 (n = 2,092) and 5 (nationally representative UK sample, n = 1,953) showed that feminists (vs. nonfeminists) perceived men as more threatening, but also more similar, to women. Participants also underestimated feminists’ warmth toward men, an error associated with hostile sexism and a misperception that feminists see men and women as dissimilar. Random-effects meta-analyses of all data (Study 6, n = 9,799) showed that feminists’ attitudes toward men were positive in absolute terms and did not differ significantly from nonfeminists'. An important comparative benchmark was established in Study 6, which showed that feminist women's attitudes toward men were no more negative than men's attitudes toward men. We term the focal stereotype the misandry myth in light of the evidence that it is false and widespread, and discuss its implications for the movement.