The “Equal-Opportunity Jerk” Defense: Rudeness Can Obfuscate Gender Bias
研究发现，如果性别歧视者对男性也粗鲁，观察者会误以为他性别中立，从而更难识别其性别偏见。这为歧视者提供了可否认性，阻碍了纠正性别歧视的第一步。
To address sexism, people must first recognize it. In this research, we identified a barrier that makes sexism hard to recognize: rudeness toward men. We found that observers judge a sexist perpetrator as less sexist if he is rude toward men. This occurs because rudeness toward men creates the illusion of gender blindness. We documented this phenomenon in five preregistered studies consisting of online adult participants and adult students from professional schools (total N = 4,663). These attributions are problematic because sexism and rudeness are not mutually exclusive. Men who hold sexist beliefs about women can be—and often are—rude toward other men. These attributions also discourage observers from holding perpetrators accountable for gender bias. Thus, rudeness toward men gives sexist perpetrators plausible deniability. It protects them and prevents the first perceptual step necessary to address sexism.