Reverse sexism

For a definition of the term "reverse sexism", see the Wiktionary entry reverse sexism.

Reverse sexism is a controversial term for discrimination against men and boys, or for anti-male prejudice. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The term has been used to claim that men have become the primary victims of sexism. ^[4] Specifically, opponents of affirmative action argue that men and boys are systematically discriminated against in employment and school admissions. ^[5]

Reverse sexism has been compared by sociologists to the concepts of "reverse racism" and "reverse ethnocentrism" in that both are a form of backlash by members of dominant groups (e.g., men, whites, or Anglos). ^[6] Reverse sexism is rebutted by analogy with the criticism of reverse racism as a response to affirmative action policies that are designed to combat institutionalized sexism and racism. ^[7] In more rigid forms, this stance assumes that the historic power imbalance in favor of men has been reversed, ^[8] and that women are now viewed as the superior gender or sex. ^[9]

Feminist theorist Florence Rush characterizes the idea of reverse sexism specifically as a misogynist reaction to feminism; men's rights activists such as Warren Farrell promote the idea of reverse sexism to argue that the feminist movement has rearranged society in such a way that it now benefits women and harms men. ^[10] In the preamble to a study on internalized sexism, Steve Bearman, Neill Korobov and Avril Thorne describe reverse sexism as a "misinformed notion", stating that "while individual women or women as a whole may enact prejudicial biases towards specific men or toward men as a group, this is done without the backing of a societal system of institutional power". ^[11]

See also

• Antifeminism
• Feminist separatism
• Male privilege
• Masculism
• Misandry
• Reverse discrimination

References

1. Suedfeld, Peter (2002). "Postmodernism, Identity Politics, and Other Political Influences in Political Psychology". In Monroe, Kristen R. (ed.). Political Psychology. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. p. 321. ISBN   978-1-135-64661-5.
2. Johnson, Allan G. (1997). The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy . Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 170. ISBN   978-1-56639-518-2.
3. Neely, Carol Thomas (1981). "Feminist Modes of Shakespearean Criticism: Compensatory, justificatory, transformational". Women's Studies. 9 (1): 3–15. doi:10.1080/00497878.1981.9978551. ISSN   0049-7878.
4. Roden, Jessica (2022). "#MeToo Movement Backlash: How Evaluations of Women Advocates as More 'Sexist' Weaken Movement Support". Media Psychology. 25 (6): 763–778. doi:10.1080/15213269.2022.2064877. ISSN   1521-3269. 'Reverse sexism' is the notion that men have replaced women as the victims of gender discrimination, despite ample evidence showing otherwise.
5. • Masequesmay, Gina (2008). "Sexism". In O′Brien, Jodi (ed.). Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, Volume 2. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications. p. 750. ISBN   978-1-4522-6602-2. In a cultural backlash, the term reverse sexism also emerged to refocus on men and boys and their disadvantages, especially under affirmative action.
   • Masequesmay, Gina (11 June 2014). "Sexism | Sexism and the men's movement". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
6. Renfrow, Daniel G.; Howard, Judith A. (2013). "Social Psychology of Gender and Race". In DeLamater, John; Ward, Amanda (eds.). Handbook of Social Psychology. Springer Netherlands. p. 496. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6772-0_17. ISBN   978-94-007-6772-0.
7. Garcia, J. L. A. (1997). "Racism as a Model for Understanding Sexism" . In Zack, Naomi (ed.). Race/Sex: Their Sameness, Difference and Interplay (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 46. doi:10.4324/9780203760604. ISBN   978-0-203-76060-4.
8. "Sociological Abstracts: Supplement — Issues 67-77". International Review of Publications in Sociology: 202. 1977. ISSN   0038-0202.^{[ full citation needed ]}
9. Collins, Georgia; Sandell, Renee (1984). Women, art, and education. Reston, Va.: National Art Education Association. p. 14. ISBN   978-0-9376-5233-6.
10. Rush, Florence (1990). "The Many Faces of Backlash". In Leidholdt, Dorchen; Raymond, Janice G. (eds.). The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism. Pergamon Press. pp. 168–169. ISBN   978-0-0803-7458-1.
11. Bearman, Steve; Korobov, Neill; Thorne, Avril (2009). "The Fabric of Internalized Sexism" (PDF). Journal of Integrated Social Sciences. 1 (1): 10–47. ISSN   1942-1052.