Beliefs in Origins of Sex Differences and Legitimization of Inequality of Men and Women

The authors developed a tool to measure beliefs concerning the sources of differences between men and women and they analyzed the relationship of those beliefs with a tendency to legitimize unequal status of men and women measured with three different methods (Gender System Legitimization, Perception of Women᾿s Social Disadvantage, collective actions taken to change men᾿s and women᾿s social situation). The tool consists of two scales: (1) Belief in Biological Origins of Sex Differences and (2) Belief in Cultural Origins of Sex Differences. The results of two studies show high validity and reliability of the constructed scales and confirm its relationship with (de)legitimization of the status of men and women. The belief that biology is the main source of differences between men and women is linked to legitimization of unequal status of women and men, while the belief that the culture is the main influence is linked to status delegitimization, especially when the relationships are mediated by hostile sexism. peerReviewed publishedVersion