Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Social Psychology Racism and Discrimination

White, but not Black, women benefit from benevolently sexist beliefs during violent interactions with police

by Eric W. Dolan
July 4, 2021
in Racism and Discrimination, Sexism, Social Psychology
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Don't miss out! Follow PsyPost on Bluesky!

New research provides evidence that Black women are less likely than their White counterparts to be afforded the protection that can often come with perceptions of femininity. This, in turn, can make police violence against Black women seem more justifiable.

The new study has been published in the scientific journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

“Like many people across the world, we felt inundated by news stories about police shootings of Black people. We also noticed that reactions to these stories were extremely polarized,” said study authors Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and Erin Cooley, an associate professor of psychology at Colgate University.

“Our initial research on this topic attempted to understand these disparate reactions. Our more recent research has sought to understand how gender further shapes the public’s attitudes toward police shootings.”

“Kimberlé Crenshaw, a lawyer and legal scholar, has long argued that Black women suffer a sort of intersectional invisibility. That is, when people are asked to think of a target of sexism, they often report thinking of a White woman, and when people are asked to think of a target of racism, they often report thinking of a Black man. So, Black women are marginalized in terms of both their race and gender,” Brown-Iannuzzi and Cooley explained.

“In our research, we reasoned that if Black women are not perceived to be prototypical victims of sexism, then sexist belief systems might be less likely to be applied to Black (compared to White) women. In some cases, this may mean that Black women are less likely to be afforded the physical protection that can often come with perceptions of femininity.”

The researchers investigated whether Black women are perceived as prototypical victims of sexism in two studies with 923 participants. They used the online recruitment platform Lucid Theorem to recruit samples that were representative of the United States on age, gender, ethnicity, and region.

In the studies, the participants read a (fake) police report about an officer responding to an armed robbery in which the suspect was either described as a “twenty-something Black female” or a “twenty-something White female.” The officer approached a woman who matched the description of the suspect, but a struggle then ensued and the officer ended up shooting the woman after she reached for something in her waistband.

The researchers found that participants who scored higher on a measure of benevolent sexism were more likely to view the White suspect as more feminine compared to those who scored lower on benevolent sexism. However, benevolent sexism appeared to have no impact on perceptions of the Black suspect’s femininity.

Those who viewed the suspect as more feminine, in turn, were more likely to believe the suspect felt more pain and was less blameworthy for the situation. Heightened perceptions of the suspect’s femininity were also associated with viewing the officer as being less justified in using force.

“One well-researched sexist belief system, called ‘benevolent sexism,’ involves perceiving women as nurturing, caregivers, and fragile. Although this type of sexism can lead to many negative outcomes for women, such as the punishment of career women who are perceived as not fitting this mold, this type of sexism may also afford physical protection to some women,” Brown-Iannuzzi and Cooley explained to PsyPost.

“Because Black women are not perceived to be the prototypical target of sexism, those who hold benevolently sexist beliefs may afford less protection to Black (vs. White) women. Across two studies we found evidence consistent with these hypotheses.”

The findings are in line with previous research that found benevolent sexism is differentially applied based on a woman’s race. But the new study — like all research — includes some limitations.

“The current work is part of only initial steps that are being taken to shine light on the ways that identities, such as race and gender (e.g., #SayHerName), intertwine to shape public responses to violent interactions with police,” Brown-Iannuzzi and Cooley said.

“One important caveat to our study is that we do not use (Black or White) men who are victims of police shootings as a comparison group. This decision was intentional as we anticipated benevolent sexism would be important when considering women victims but would be unrelated to attitudes toward men victims. That said, it would be helpful to investigate whether victim’s gender and race interact to predict perceived pain and victim blame.”

The study, “Race, Ambivalent Sexism, and Perceptions of Situations When Police Shoot Black Women“, was authored by Jazmin L. Brown-Iannuzzi, Erin Cooley, William Cipolli, and Sarita Mehta.

TweetSendScanShareSendPin5ShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

New psychology study: Inner reasons for seeking romance are a top predictor of finding it
Sexism

People’s ideal leader isn’t hyper-masculine — new study shows preference for androgynous traits

July 18, 2025

People tend to picture ideal leaders as highly competent and caring—qualities often linked to both men and women. A new study suggests that aspirational leadership norms may help shift perceptions away from outdated gender stereotypes.

Read moreDetails
New psychology study: Inner reasons for seeking romance are a top predictor of finding it
Dating

New psychology study: Inner reasons for seeking romance are a top predictor of finding it

July 18, 2025

Think pressure to find a partner will help your search? Think again. New psychology research suggests motivations based on avoiding shame or meeting others' expectations are ineffective. Genuinely valuing connection is what actually predicts finding a relationship down the line.

Read moreDetails
Women favor men with attractive faces when making social bargaining decisions
Attractiveness

Women favor men with attractive faces when making social bargaining decisions

July 16, 2025

New research shows that women are more likely to accept offers from men with attractive faces and positive social interest in economic games, highlighting how appearance and perceived friendliness can influence fairness judgments in social decision-making.

Read moreDetails
Trump’s speeches stump AI: Study reveals ChatGPT’s struggle with metaphors
Artificial Intelligence

Trump’s speeches stump AI: Study reveals ChatGPT’s struggle with metaphors

July 15, 2025

Can an AI understand a political metaphor? Researchers pitted ChatGPT against the speeches of Donald Trump to find out. The model showed moderate success in detection but ultimately struggled with context, highlighting the current limits of automated language analysis.

Read moreDetails
Daughters who feel more attractive report stronger, more protective bonds with their fathers
Social Media

Moral outrage spreads petitions online—but doesn’t always inspire people to sign them

July 15, 2025

Posts expressing moral outrage were more likely to go viral but did not lead to more petition signatures, while posts using agentic, group identity, or prosocial language attracted more signatures despite receiving less online engagement.

Read moreDetails
Dark personality traits linked to “social zapping”: New study examines people who cancel plans at the last minute
Narcissism

Narcissistic individuals are more prone to maladaptive daydreaming

July 14, 2025

A new study suggests that narcissistic personality traits are linked to maladaptive daydreaming, with psychological defense mechanisms playing a key role in the relationship. The findings highlight how different defense styles may influence a person’s tendency to escape into fantasy.

Read moreDetails
Daughters who feel more attractive report stronger, more protective bonds with their fathers
Artificial Intelligence

People who use AI may pay a social price, according to new psychology research

July 14, 2025

Worried that using AI tools like ChatGPT at work makes you look lazy? New research suggests you might be right. A study finds employees who use AI are often judged more harshly, facing negative perceptions about their competence and effort.

Read moreDetails
New research shows the psychological toll of the 2024 presidential election
Anxiety

New research shows the psychological toll of the 2024 presidential election

July 13, 2025

Among young adults, stress from election news was linked to higher risks of depression and anxiety, while pre-election anticipatory stress was linked to depression only. Stress about the election outcome was not associated with either condition.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Key Alzheimer’s protein found at astonishingly high levels in healthy newborns

People’s ideal leader isn’t hyper-masculine — new study shows preference for androgynous traits

Chronic pain rewires how the brain processes punishment, new research suggests

Common antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs tied to major shifts in gut microbiome composition

New psychology study: Inner reasons for seeking romance are a top predictor of finding it

Scientists demonstrate that “AI’s superhuman persuasiveness is already a reality”

Cannabis alternative 9(R)-HHC may be as potent as THC, study in mice suggests

A single dose of lamotrigine causes subtle changes in emotional memory

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy