Mothers Roles in Sexist Attitudes

We haven't discussed this specifically in class but I thought it was interesting

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110929074028.htm

This article discusses a link between attitudes of sexist mothers and that of their sons and daughters. The investigation analyses the relation between the sexism levels of mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter and father-son due to the role that gender plays in these different attitudes.

The mother is the figure that has the greatest influence in the transfer of "discriminatory attitudes." It's interesting given that women are the primary targets of sexism, that then they are the ones with the greatest influence when it comes to the transfer of such attitudes. This phenomenon is due to several factors: the amount of time that children spend with their parents, the household chores that the mother encourages them to do, the type of gifts that they are given and the roles that these gifts infer and, finally, the important role of the mother in the transference of values in general.

The study also points out the importance of educating parents in regards to gender prejudices. The study states that parents with a lower level of sexism raise their children to also have this lower level of sexism. Sexism is transferred through the family, but these attitudes also develop from other significant sources, such as a social group and the media.

Sexist attitudes are linked to gender, as boys (especially adolescent boys) have higher levels of sexism than girls.

There is also a link between socio-economic status and cultural position in discriminatory attitudes. As the article states, "the greater the socioeconomic and cultural level of the family, the lower the level of sexism in both sons and daughter and in mothers and father."

All in all this is a really interesting phenomenon.