Gender, Age, Ability, and Appearance Stereotypes and Discrimination

Gender belief system

Stereotypes, attitudes, beliefs about what gender is and what it should be.

Androcentrism

Tendency to prioritize men's values and needs compared to women.

Heterosexism

Tendency to stigmatize, devalue, and discriminate against sexual minorities.

Gender stereotypes

Traits, roles, physical characteristics, and cognitive abilities associated with genders.

Communal traits

Traits typically associated with women, such as helpful, warm, artistic, and submissive.

Agentic traits

Traits typically associated with men, such as confident, powerful, and analytical.

Face-ism

Male faces are featured more prominently in ads compared to female faces.

Gender polarization

Masculine and feminine traits are viewed as mutually exclusive.

Discrimination affection paradox

Women experience more discrimination even though they are viewed more positively.

Modern sexism

Biased evaluations, pricing, jokes, patronization, hostility, opportunities.

Pink tax

Gender-based pricing discrimination.

Tampon tax

Taxed and not considered a medical necessity.

Subtypes

Subcategories used to group complex individuals based on gender-related roles, occupations, and traits.

Stereotype accuracy

Women and men self-describe in stereotype-consistent ways.

Stereotype changes

Women report more agentic traits over time.

Bechdel test

A measure of the representation of women in fiction.

Heterosexism in the workplace

Discrimination against sexual minorities in a work environment.

Workplace discrimination

Unfair treatment of employees based on gender or sexual orientation.

Attitudes towards men and women

Beliefs and perceptions that influence gender relations.

Women in non-traditional roles

Seen negatively compared to women in traditional roles.

Why is feminism viewed negatively?

A question regarding societal perceptions of feminism.

Explicit sexism

Most report low explicit prejudice towards women.

Ambivalent sexism

Subtle sexism with both positive and negative beliefs.

Hostile sexism

Beliefs that women are too sensitive and seek to manipulate men.

Benevolent sexism

Beliefs that women are pure and should be cherished and protected.

Wage gap

94% for Asian women, 82% for white women, 65% for black women, and 62% for Hispanic women.

Glass ceiling

Barriers preventing women from advancement in certain domains.

Sticky floor

Traditionally gendered jobs for women offer little advancement opportunity.

Glass escalator

Quicker male advancement in female dominated positions.

Role congruity theory

Beliefs about women are incongruent with roles.

Backlash effect

Women with stereotypically male leadership traits are evaluated negatively.

Workplace culture

Women who feel free to call out gender bias are more successful.

Sexual prejudice

Negative attitudes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sexual orientation hypothesis

Stronger belief that feminine men are gay compared to masculine women.

Bisexual attitudes

Gay/lesbian and straight people demonstrate negative attitudes towards bisexuals.

Transgender

Ones assigned sex is different from one's gender identity.

Anti-transgender prejudice

Negative attitudes towards transgender people.

Ageism

Biased evaluations and judgments based on age.

Adultism

Systemic discrimination faced by younger people.

Stereotype content model

Older adults are seen as extremely warm but less competent.

Forgetfulness stereotype

We attribute forgetting to external factors for young and internal for older adults.

Aging subtypes

Positive and negative subtypes for older adults (e.g., Grandparent vs. others).

Terror management theory (TMT)

Thoughts of morality are threatening and lead to age stigma avoidance.

Advantages of aging

Includes service and volunteering, more positive emotions and relationships, less susceptibility to colds and some illnesses, lower accident rates than young adults, and lower rates of mental illness, alcoholism, and drug abuse.

Media and ageism

Older adults are underrepresented in the media, presented in somewhat positive roles such as leaders, experts, and grandparents.

Age based discrimination employment act (ADEA)

Has had little impact on discrimination against older adults.

Resume and interview studies

Show biased treatment of older adults based on inaccurate beliefs about their capabilities.

Reality of job performance with age

Job performance gets better as we age in terms of safety, productivity, and reliability.

Elderspeak

Negative stereotypes lead to patronizing and demeaning speech, which can worsen cognitive performance.

Healthcare for older adults

Negative stereotypes lead to worse care by healthcare providers, particularly for older women of color.

Disability

Any impairment that limits one or more major life activities, viewed through legal/medical and social models.

Ableism

Negative attitudes and behaviors towards persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Interpersonal discrimination

People have positive attitudes towards PWD, but discrimination remains high, especially for controllable and severe stigmas.

Aesthetic anxiety

Fear resulting from physical traits that deviate from the norm.

Existential Anxiety

Fear resulting from thoughts of helplessness and/or one's mortality.

Contact Anxiety

Limited experience leads to anxious, patronizing, uncomfortable interactions.

Mental Illness (disorder)

Conditions affecting one's thoughts, feelings, moods, and/or behaviors, viewed more negatively than physical illnesses.

Lookism

Preferential treatment based on attractiveness stereotypes, leading to more popularity and higher earnings.

Height bias

Taller people are evaluated more favorably than shorter individuals, affecting workplace status and earnings.

Weight/anti-fat bias

Stigmatizing overweight individuals is legal and socially accepted, leading to high levels of job discrimination.

Attribution-value Model

Belief that discrimination against obese individuals is justified due to perceived lack of morals and willpower.

Weight double standards

Women typically experience more prejudice and are held to stricter standards regarding weight.

Impact of weight stigmas

Leads to depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and increased obesity.