The Misandry Myth : An Inaccurate Stereotype About Feminists’ Attitudes Toward Men

Hopkins-Doyle, Aífe and Petterson, Aino L. and Leach, Stefan and Zibell, Hannah and Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit and Binti Abdul Rahim, Sharmaine and Blake, Jemima and Bosco, Cristina and Cherrie-Rees, Kimberley and Beadle, Ami and Cock, Victoria and Greer, Hazel and Jankowska, Antonina and Macdonald, Kaitlin and Scott English, Alexander and Wai Lan YEUNG, Victoria and Asano, Ryosuke and Beattie, Peter and Bernardo, Allan B.I. and Boonroungrut, Chinun and Chaudhuri, Anindita and Chien, Chin Lung and Choi, Hoon Seok and Cui, Lixian and Du, Hongfei and Fuji, Kei and Hitokoto, Hidefumi and Iida, Junko and Ishii, Keiko and Jiang, Ding Yu and Jogdand, Yashpal and Lee, Hyejoo J. and Mifune, Nobuhiro and Moon, Chanki and Murayama, Aya and Na, Jinkyung and One, Kim and Park, Joonha and Sato, Kosuke and Sharma, Suryodaya and Suh, Eunkook M. and Tipandjan, Arun and Sutton, Robbie M. (2024) The Misandry Myth : An Inaccurate Stereotype About Feminists’ Attitudes Toward Men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 48 (1). pp. 8-37. ISSN 0361-6843

Abstract

In six studies, we examined the accuracy and underpinnings of the damaging stereotype that feminists harbor negative attitudes toward men. In Study 1 (n = 1,664), feminist and nonfeminist women displayed similarly positive attitudes toward men. Study 2 (n = 3,892) replicated these results in non-WEIRD countries and among male participants. Study 3 (n = 198) extended them to implicit attitudes. Investigating the mechanisms underlying feminists’ actual and perceived attitudes, Studies 4 (n = 2,092) and 5 (nationally representative UK sample, n = 1,953) showed that feminists (vs. nonfeminists) perceived men as more threatening, but also more similar, to women. Participants also underestimated feminists’ warmth toward men, an error associated with hostile sexism and a misperception that feminists see men and women as dissimilar. Random-effects meta-analyses of all data (Study 6, n = 9,799) showed that feminists’ attitudes toward men were positive in absolute terms and did not differ significantly from nonfeminists'. An important comparative benchmark was established in Study 6, which showed that feminist women's attitudes toward men were no more negative than men's attitudes toward men. We term the focal stereotype the misandry myth in light of the evidence that it is false and widespread, and discuss its implications for the movement.