Women and men: Which kind of Entities?

The study of stereotyping has recently expanded to encompass metaphorical likening to non-human entities (e.g., Loughnan & Haslam, 2007; Viki et al, 2006). We propose that gender stereotypes might be represented metaphorically in the types of non-human entities differentially associated with men and women. Specifically, moral agents (angels and devils) and objects may represent pertinent non-humans in gender stereotyping. Participants (N=65) were asked to rate the masculinity and femininity of traits chosen to represent different types of non-humans (i.e., angels, devils, and objects) and the concepts agency and communion. Results indicate that both angelic (e.g., pure, divine) and devilish (e.g., manipulative, immoral) traits were rated more feminine than masculine. This finding suggests that morality may be an important but previously understudied dimension of gender perception. An investigation of object ratings revealed two separate dimensions of objectification; value-based and utility-based. Traits associated with object-value (e.g., valuable, precious, worthless) were rated higher in femininity, whereas traits associated with object-utility (e.g., useful, instrumental, useless) were more associated with masculinity. This finding suggests that gender objectification may not be limited to perceptions of women, but encompasses a utility or ‘tool-like’ objectification of men. Further value- , but not utility-based, objectification is coupled with a denial of agency, consistent with objectification theory (Nussbaum, 1995). We conclude that gender stereotypes contain diverse associations with entities, and that objectification can be construed as multifaceted.