The Impact of Class and Sexuality-Based Stereotyping on Rape Blame

Abstract

In order to investigate whether stereotypes about sexuality can impact perceptions of sexual assault, participants read a scenario that described a situation in which a woman reported being raped. The woman's socioeconomic status (SES) was varied, so that she appeared to be of low or high-SES. Following the vignette, participants completed explicit measures that assessed victim blame, attitudes toward rape victims, and perceived promiscuity. Participants also answered an open-ended question that was coded for minimizing and maximizing language. Last, participants completed an ''attitude survey'' that measured classist attitudes. It was hypothesized that participants who read about the low-SES woman would show more rape blame, display more negative attitudes about rape victims, respond to the open-ended question with more minimizing language, and perceive her as being more promiscuous. It was also predicted that these explicit measures would be positively correlated and that the language measure would be moderated by participants' classism. Results supported these hypotheses. Participants who read about the low-SES survivor showed more negative attitudes, believed her to be more culpable, and more promiscuous. The explicit measures were positively correlated. Additionally, participants differed in linguistic minimization and maximization, such that participants who were low in classism were more likely to maximize the low-SES target's experience, whereas participants who were high in classism were more likely to minimize the low-SES target's experience. Taken together, these results suggest that low-SES women are stereotyped as being promiscuous and that this stereotype affects how they may be blamed after cases of sexual assault. Public Health Significance Statement: The results of this study suggest that low-socioeconomic status (SES) survivors of assault are more likely to be blamed and found culpable for the assault than high-SES women. These attitudes correlate with stereotypes about low-SES women's sexuality.

Blaming the Victim of Acquaintance Rape: Individual, Situational, and Sociocultural Factors

“…Women, but not men, held the victim more responsible when she was assaulted by the bus driver than the doctor. In another study in which the victim was portrayed as either a cashier or accountant, both male and female participants rated the cashier as more promiscuous and more blameworthy (Spencer, 2016).…”

Dehumanization of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Groups Decreases Support for Welfare Policies via Perceived Wastefulness

“…The perception of low-SES groups as lazy, stupid, or violent (Garland et al, 2015;Spencer, 2016;Spencer & Castano, 2007) influences judgements in other domains, such as the management of financial resources. In this specific field, low-SES groups are perceived as bad and impulsive resource managers, who have wasteful consumption practices compared with middle-SES groups (Jones, 2011).…”

Stereotypes in Attributions About Women’s Gender-Based Mistreatment

“…Moreover, it is evident from previous research that many of the stereotypes and assumptions applied to these groups of women overlap and inform one another. Both low-income women and women of color face similar stereotypes of promiscuity, oversexualization, and presumed agency that we found to substantially influence people’s perceptions of women’s mistreatment (Anderson et al, 2018; Bullock et al, 2001; Donovan & Williams, 2008; Francombe-Webb & Silk, 2016; Hill Collins, 2000; Spencer, 2016; Stephens & Phillips, 2003). We hope future research will identify those race-based stereotypes that also operate to differentiate perceptions of women exposed to gender-based mistreatment.…”

“…Respondents also commented on their surprise that the woman appeared not to be irresponsible or promiscuous. These ideas are based on gendered stereotypes that are influenced by perceptions of social class position (Bettie, 2000; Francombe-Webb & Silk, 2016; Spencer, 2016). These included stereotypes related to the oversexualization of working-class women, which work to support the overall assumption that working-class women do not have agency over their lives.…”

“…In addition, Francombe-Webb and Silk (2016) found that low-income women were seen as oversexualized in young participants’ depictions of them. Another study assessing people’s perceptions toward women who experienced sexual assault found that low-income women were seen as more promiscuous and were blamed more for their own assaults (Spencer, 2016). Taking into account stereotypes related to other identities women hold, it is clear that some women’s experiences of gender-based mistreatment may be perceived as less important or disturbing than others’ experiences, based on stereotypes related to these identities.…”