Benevolent Sexism, Perceived Health Risks, and the Inclination to Restrict Pregnant Women’s Freedoms

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of sexist ideology in perceptions of health risks during pregnancy and willingness to intervene on pregnant women's behavior. Initially, 160 female psychology undergraduates at a university in the South East of England completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996). Two months later, in an apparently unrelated study, they rated the safety of 45 behaviours during pregnancy (e.g., drinking alcohol, exercising, drinking tap water, and oral sex), and indicated their willingness to restrict pregnant women's choices (e.g., by refusing to serve soft cheese or alcohol). As predicted, benevolent (but not hostile) sexism was related to willingness to restrict pregnant women's choices. This effect was partially mediated by the perceived danger attributed to behaviours.

Do Sexist Mothers Change More Diapers? Ambivalent Sexism, Maternal Gatekeeping, and the Division of Childcare

“…For example, benevolent and hostile sexism were related to attitudes toward dating and sexual behavior (McCarty and Kelly 2015;Paynter and Leaper 2016;Zaikman and Marks 2014), tolerance of sexual harassment and rape (Durán et al 2016;Russell and Trigg 2004), and attitudes toward women's reproductive rights, pregnancy, and abortion (Hodson and MacInnis 2017;Huang et al 2016;Sutton et al 2011). Particularly important for our purposes, many findings indicate that sexist attitudes affect relationship and marriage norms and promote preferences for romantic partners who possess qualities congruent with traditional gender roles (Bermúdez et al 2015;Chen et al 2009;Thomae and Houston 2016).…”

Risk perception of women during high risk pregnancy: A systematic review

“…Information from professionals should be accurate and appropriately communicated, but women weigh this information alongside information from other sources and in the wider context of everyday life (Alaszewski and Horlick-Jones 2003). The study by Sutton (2010) which found willingness to intervene when a pregnant woman was observed doing something perceived to present a risk did not have an association with perceived level of knowledge of pregnancy, suggests risk in pregnancy remains an emotive subject of which factual knowledge is only one aspect. Healthcare professionals should therefore remember that women will take many factors into account when assessing their perceived degree of risk and not assume that statistical information about risk or an increased amount of factual information will be the most influential of these.…”

“…It has been argued that pregnant women are widely regarded as an especially vulnerable group in need of increased monitoring and intervention (Lupton 1999). This desire to control the behaviour of pregnant women in order to protect them from perceived danger has been shown to extend beyond the medical profession (Sutton, Douglas et al 2010). In a study of US female undergraduates, Sutton et al used questionnaires to assess levels of sexism, knowledge of pregnancy, and perceived willingness to intervene if a pregnant woman was witnessed doing something perceived as unsafe.…”

“…Knowledge about activities which are believed to present a risk to pregnant women may be based on folklore and tradition rather than medical science, but still maintain an influence over thinking and behaviour (Snow, Johnson et al 1978;Sutton, Douglas et al 2010). In their qualitative study of low income, multi-ethnic urban American women regarding what behaviours were believed to constitute a risk in pregnancy, Snow et al uncovered beliefs such as the denial of maternal food cravings or going out during a lunar eclipse resulting in fetal abnormalities.…”

Risk perception in women with high-risk pregnancies

“…Barlow et al (2008) reported that asymptomatic pregnant women diagnosed with hypertension felt uncomfortable receiving medical care and had difficulty following treatment plans. Finally, beliefs about what constitutes a risk may be incorrect but based on ingrained cultural myths and stereotypes about health and pregnancy (Sutton et al 2011).…”