Authors: Itisha Nagar and Roshni Mathur
First & Second Author Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kamala Nehru College University of Delhi
Abstract: Sexism is not just a problem of the past; it is still pervasive and perpetuated in everyday life. Feminism is an ideology that aims to tackle sexism and provide equality between men and women in its roots. By straitjacketing men and women into a pattern of behavior pre-approved by society, sexism dehumanizes both men and women. The present study examined gender differences in sexism and feminist self-identification for young adolescents and adults (40 males and 40 females). In line with our expectations, results revealed that males reported significantly higher on ambivalent sexism (hostile and benevolent sexism) relative to females, but there were no differences in feminist self-identification. That is, while young Indian adolescent and adult women endorse sexist statements significantly lesser than man, but they do not endorse the philosophy of feminism which aims to reduce sexism, any more than men. The findings have been studied in context of the potential ‘stigma’ of the feminist label.