Threats to Masculinity Evoke Status-Quo Reinforcing Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

Terri Vescio ¹ Katsumi Yamaguchi-Pedroza ¹ Nathaniel Schermerhorn ^2* Abigail J Loviscky ¹

• ¹ Pennsylvania State University, University Park, United States
• ² University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom

Culturally idealized forms of masculinity are broadly endorsed, functionally reinforcing the status quo. Two studies (N = 606) provided the first known examinations of whether receiving genderincongruent feedback, which threatens masculinity in men (but not femininity in women), serially leads to public discomfort, anger, and status-quo-reinforcing prejudice toward members of marginalized groups. Consistent with predictions, when men received gender-incongruent information-learning they were more similar to women (vs. men) in their gender knowledge they felt more public discomfort and subsequent anger that, in turn, predicted anti-Black attitudes (Study 1), anti-immigrant attitudes (Study 2), and Islamophobia (Study 2); these effects were not significant among women. The present findings replicate prior research showing that, when receiving genderincongruent information, men experience threats to masculinity that lead to acts of dominance and aggression, which reinforce men's dominance over women. The present findings also provide novel evidence that threats to men's masculinity-via public discomfort and anger-arouse White men's dominance over marginalized masculinities.