Sexual objectification and Jezebel stereotype endorsement, a racialized characterization of Black women as promiscuous, have been linked to harmful violence attitudes toward women. Although Black women’s experiences of sexual objectification may be compounded by racialized stereotypes, research has yet to examine how these processes intersect to influence justification of intimate partner violence toward women. This study fills this gap in the objectification literature by examining associations between interpersonal sexual objectification, endorsement of racialized stereotypes, and justification of violence toward women in a sample of Black men and women. Participants were 432 Black Americans who completed an online survey. Among Black men, we found that greater objectifying behaviors and greater endorsement of the Jezebel stereotype were associated with greater justification of violence toward women. We did not find evidence of an interaction between these two processes. Among Black women, we found an interaction between objectification experiences and stereotype endorsement, such that justification of violence was highest for Black women who endorsed the Jezebel stereotype and had more frequent experiences of sexual objectification. Violence prevention work, such as perpetrator rehabilitation programs and victim support groups, should explicitly address how stereotypical images of Black women impact their experiences of violence.

HIV-related stigma may influence ethical concerns in health disparity populations, particularly groups with histories of race, gender, and class oppression in medical research such as African American women. However, a dearth of research has examined how HIV-related stigma influences perceptions of the research process among African American women who participate in health research. The goal of the current study was to examine whether HIV-related stigma experienced on the micro-level, specifically internalized HIV-related stigma, is associated with reactions to research participation in 5 domains: attitudes toward participation, perceptions of research benefits, emotional reactions, perceived drawbacks of the research, and global evaluations of the research. We also examine whether internalized HIV-related stigma is associated with difficulty in answering questions related to sensitive topics. We found that women with higher levels of internalized HIV-related stigma reported more emotional reactions to research, perceived more drawbacks of the research, and expressed more difficulty in answering sensitive questions. Understanding how HIV-related stigma influences perceived risks and benefits of research participation may play an important role in guiding best practices for ethical engagement with HIV-positive African American women who participate in health research.

No abstract