Is it sexy to be sexist? How stereotyped humor affects romantic attraction

Abstract

Sexist humor is a common form of disparagement humor that is nonetheless understudied in romantic attraction contexts. Three experiments investigated how sexist humor is perceived and received during relationship initiation. In Study 1 (n = 262) participants rated self-directed sexist humor as more affiliative (only women), less aggressive, and more self-defeating than other-directed sexist humor. Study 2 (n = 209) replicated these findings and found that women romantically preferred men who used self- rather than other-directed sexist humor, an effect mediated by perceived warmth. Self-directed sexist humor's attractiveness advantage persisted in Study 3 (n = 667), which also included manipulations of self-disparaging, group-disparaging, and benign humor. Results suggest a romantic cost for men telling sexist jokes that disparage women.