“I don’t care” or “It’s their fault”: System justification and the lack of empathy as complementary obstacles to dealing with the modern sexism

Abstract

In this paper, we analyzed college students’ perceptions of their experiences with sexism through the frameworks of the ambivalent sexism theory and the theory of system justification. These theories describe the complexity of sexism and explain obstacles of dealing with it in the modern Western world. We qualitatively analyzed students’ responses to an open-ended question about sexism on their campuses. While many informants did describe sexism as a problem, others indicated that it is not important. Respondents displayed negative emotions that often took the form of blame directed both ways. There were almost no responses describing complexity of the modern sexism, which the theories of system justification and ambivalent sexism highlight. We conclude that the subtle nature of the modern sexism combined with people’s reluctance to empathize with the other side (whether they are negatively affected by sexism or not) contribute to the persistence of sexism in the modern world.