The political opinions of so many are predicated on the base level belief that ‘the world hates women’. It is from this limited understanding, that our current conception of ‘structural sexism’ is born. The belief that those in positions of power, who are men, are actively uplifting other men like them, whilst trampling upon women and girls. And it makes sense at face value. ‘The Patriarchy’ is how many will describe this belief - the world dislikes women - and heaps an extra portion or two of privilege onto the plate of its favourite child: ‘man’. The problem with this theory is that it often lies in stark contrast to what actual research tells us – the typical finding that both women and men actually hold more favourable views of women. ‘Women like women, more than men like men’ as the APA puts it (and nearly five times more at that). But there is yet another hidden layer beneath this too… that men also like women, more than they like men. And with that, ‘patriarchy theory’ takes a direct blow to the very core of its credibility. Because actually, most people prefer women over men, rather than the other way around. This phenomenon is well established and studied, and observed across generations, and in dozens of countries around the world. It’s called the ‘Women Are Wonderful Effect’, and it describes how, in general, people associate more good things with women, and more bad things with men. So is it time we question the notion of ‘a world that dislikes women’, and honestly asked ourselves, does the world like men any better? What do you think? ~ Sources Study one  Study two  Study three  Images by Kelly Sikkema, Jason Hinrichs, Felipe Detani, Mesa Cicen.

2024-03-22