Citation

Munsch CL, Willer R. Violence Against Women 2012; 18(10): 1125-1146.

Affiliation

Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801212465151

PMID

23136179

Abstract

We experimentally investigated the effects of gender identity threat on men's and women's perceptions of date rape and sexual coercion. Results showed that men whose masculinity was threatened responded by blaming the victim and exonerating the perpetrator more, while threatened women respond by blaming male perpetrators more and placing less blame on female victims. Men's response to threats was more pronounced than women's, an asymmetry we attribute to the cultural devaluation of femininity. Our findings highlight the significance of masculinity concerns in perceptions of sexual violence and, more generally, the importance of perceiver context in views of violence against women.

Language: en