El papel de los hombres como aliados contra el sexismo

Abstract

Gender inequality is still a pervasive problem in our societies; even though evident progress has been achieved, there is still a long way to go (Morgenroth & Ryan, 2018). The fight against this and other inequalities has been traditionally focused on the targets of discrimination, because they are the ones concerned with improving their positions in society (Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Wright et al., 1990). However, during the last decades the relevance of advantaged group members who fight against inequality is gaining attention in our field. In the context of gender inequality, more and more voices encourage men to become women’s allies against sexism. But there are also voices that oppose it or express reluctance. Although confronting sexism offer men a good opportunity to become allies (Drury & Kaiser, 2014), the intergroup relations literature confirms the need to be cautious when incorporating them in the fight against gender inequality. Although members of dominant groups can act on behalf of disadvantaged people, it does not guarantee to achieve social change. On the contrary, they may even reinforce inequality and undermine disadvantaged group members resistance, especially when they ignore power asymmetries that define intergroup relations (Nadler, 2002; Saguy, Tausch, Dovidio, & Pratto 2009; Wright & Lubensky, 2008). Nevertheless, if advantaged groups members are aware of power relations and clearly oppose to them, they can be supportive for disadvantaged groups and become really helpful to promote social change (Droogendyck, Louis, & Wright, 2016). In this doctoral dissertation, we study which conditions must be fulfilled for men to become women’s allies against sexism and promote real social change. To answer this question, we have set three specific objectives: (1) To understand why men get involved in confronting sexism; to this aim, we analyze different motivational processes that lead men to confront a sexist situation. (2) To study the consequences of different types of male sexism confrontation for women’s well-being and empowerment. (3) To analyze when women perceive men as allies, the implications of such perceptions in interpersonal and intergroup terms and their underlying mechanisms.