Mothers Are the Most Responsible in Transferring of Sexist Attitudes, Study Suggests [View all]

It appears that the mother is a figure who has greater influence in the transference of discriminatory behaviour. According to Garaigordobil, "the degree of sexism in the mother is more linked to that of her sons or daughters in comparison to the influence of the father."

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The author states that "if we bear in mind that women are the main victims of sexism, it is paradoxical that they are the ones who have a greater influence when it comes to the transference of such damaging attitudes." However, she goes on to admit that "we are unable to confirm that this relationship is of a cause-effect nature given that our study is not correlational and does not use experimental methodology."

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The study suggests the importance of working with parents with regards to gender prejudices because a lower level of sexism in parents would also bring about a lower level in their offspring. Furthermore, Garaigordobil and Aliri explain the importance of implementing educational programmes during infancy and adolescence as a way of encouraging gender equality, reducing sexism and preventing gender-based violence.

Garaigordobil remarks that "we must emphasise that sexism is transferred through the family but sexist attitudes also develop from other significant sources. These include the social group to which each person belongs or the media, which would need to have some involvement if sexism were to be reduced.

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