The Relations between Gender Roles, Sibling Constellations, and Modern Sexism

Abstract: In this study we investigated the relations between gender roles, siblings and sexism. We wanted to know if boys who spent more time with their sisters were less sexist than those who did not. Another question we asked was if girls who identified with their traditional gender roles were more sexist than those who did not. We sampled 127 high school students in the ages of 15 to 19. The results showed that time spent with sisters among boys, did not significantly correlate with sexism. However boys were more sexist than girls. Girls who identified with their traditional gender roles were less sexist than those who did not. Another important finding was that boys not identifying with the feminine gender role were more sexist than those who did. In conclusion, Contact with sisters did not have a relation to boys being sexist. However, gender and gender roles did. Unexpected findings included the importance of the feminine gender role. Where not identifying with feminine gender role traits for boys showed higher tendencies for sexism. Whereas girls who identified with the feminine traits showed lower tendencies for sexism.