PRESSURE TO CONFORM TO FEMININE STANDARDS AND INTERNALIZED BENEVOLENT SEXISM AMONG WOMEN IN LEBANON

Abstract

Lebanon, as an Arab country, is characterized by a patriarchal social structure (Nydell, 2012; Usta et al., 2015) that people, across genders, maintain and empower. The literature has hinted to a possible association between internalized benevolent sexism and other factors, such as the endorsement of traditional gender roles (Aiken & Velker, 2019; Becker et al., 2010) and stereotypes (Hornsey et al. 2015; Steffens et al., 2010) and the pressure regarding gendered behaviors (Cook et al., 2019; Jackson et al., 2021). In this study, we explored these associations, as a way to shed light on the underpinnings of women’s endorsement of sexism in the context of persistent gender inequality, considering that women are the targets of, but also participants in, the patriarchy. On one hand, the present study examined the relationship between the pressure to comply with feminine standards and the internalization of benevolent sexism among women in Lebanon, as mediated by feminine gender stereotypes and traditional gender roles performed through feminine behaviors. On the other hand, this study compared the levels of pressure to conform from different sources (i.e., female others, male others, self), and tested their role in predicting internalized benevolent sexism among women in Lebanon specifically. To investigate these relationships, we adopted a correlational design, where we recruited around 260 women living in Lebanon to complete a survey assessing the main variables along with several sociodemographic variables.

Results showed that the internalization of traditional gender roles, the internalization of communal gender stereotypes, and conformity to feminine standards are not only positively related to, but also the strongest predictors of the internalization of benevolent sexism. Most importantly, felt pressure only from male friends and from the self were significant negative predictors of the internalization of benevolent sexism. While controlling for personality traits, neuroticism was found to be the only significant predictor of internalized benevolent sexism, while other main factors remained significant predictors. Comparing the levels of felt pressure from the different sources (i.e., father, mother, male friends, female friends, self), we found that the levels of felt pressure from peers and fathers were significantly higher than the pressure reported as coming from mothers and self. Accordingly, we discuss the implications for these findings, and we suggest the limitations and recommendations for further research.