Ambivalence Toward Men: Comparing Sexism Among Polish, South African and British University Students

This study extends the literature on attitudes toward gender roles by exploring whether the nature of sexism (i.e., benevolence
and hostility directed at men) differs among university students from two under-researched countries, Poland (n = 190) and South Africa (n = 188), in a comparison with students in the United Kingdom (n = 166). Based on empirical literature applying Ambivalent Sexism Theory, and in the light of the socio-political context,
it was hypothesized that: (1) both hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men in Poland would be more liberal than in South
Africa and more conservative than in the United Kingdom, and (2), women would exhibit more hostile but less benevolent attitudes
than men in relatively more conservative South Africa. The Ambivalence to Men Inventory was used to measure the two types
of sexist attitudes about men. Findings supported the first hypothesis for hostile attitudes and partially for benevolent
attitudes. South African and Polish students were more benevolent and hostile to men than British students, and students from
South Africa were more hostile than those from Poland. Moreover, as predicted, a significant country-by-gender interaction
revealed that South African women had more hostile and less benevolent attitudes to men than South African men. No such gender
gap was present in the case of hostile attitudes in Poland and benevolent attitudes in the United Kingdom. Findings are discussed
in terms of Ambivalent Sexism Theory and the countries’ socio-cultural context.