Date of Award

Fall 12-6-2023

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Political Science and International Affairs

Department Chair or Program Director

Cooperman, Rosalyn

First Advisor

McDonald, Jared

Second Advisor

Cooperman, Rosalyn

Major or Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

How do sexist attitudes predict one’s likelihood of endorsing political violence? While past research identifies a link between hostile sexism and political violence, benevolent sexism has been overlooked. This article explores social dominance orientation (SDO) as a motivator to explain why individuals who hold attitudes of hostile or benevolent sexism are more likely to endorse political violence. Using survey data collected by the American National Election Studies, this article established a positive relationship between both hostile and benevolent sexism and an individual’s willingness to endorse state violence. Results also show a weak mediated relationship between SDO, hostile sexism, and endorsement of state violence. These findings suggest that sexist attitudes do play a role in political violence, but many factors in addition to SDO seem to impact this relationship. Further examination into the factors connecting sexism and political violence should be explored in future research.

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