ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that sexism is, probably always has been, a special case of prejudice marked by a deep ambivalence, rather than a uniform antipathy, toward women. Sexism has typically been conceptualized as a reflection of hostility toward women. This view neglects a significant aspect of sexism: the subjectively positive feelings toward women that often go hand in hand with sexist antipathy. Evidence for benevolent sexism can be gleaned from a variety of research areas. Ambivalent sexism may be most evident in polarized views of these different types. To complement the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory as a research tool, the Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory. Many individual-differences measures of sexism currently exist. Most follow in the footsteps of Spence and Helmreich's Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS). Such scales are more precisely labeled as measures of sex role traditionalism versus egalitarianism or, as the AWS are subtitled, as measures of "Attitudes Toward the Rights and Roles of Women".
