Standing Up to Sexism: Does Challenging Sexist Comments Have Transformational Benefits in How Women Value Themselves and Other Women?

Research suggests that challenging sexist comments may mitigate its negative effects and may even have some positive effects, but the nature of this association is unclear: is it causal or a mere correlational artefact? Across three studies, we examined whether challenging sexist comments relates to how women value themselves and other women. We hypothesised that challenging sexist comments may have a transformative effect, a moderating effect, or no effect, merely reflecting pre-existing beliefs. Studies 1a, 1b, and 2 found that women who challenged sexist comments valued sexual consent more and accepted gender inequality and rape myths less. However, these effects disappeared when accounting for baseline sexism, suggesting that women with less sexist attitudes were more likely to challenge sexist comments – and already hold these values. Study 3 confirmed this, showing that challengers and those who wanted to challenge held similar attitudes, while non-challengers valued themselves and other women less. These findings question the assumption that challenging sexism has immediate transformative benefits – but the possibility remains that repeated acts of challenging would have stronger effects. Instead, our findings suggest that women who confront sexism are likely to have pre-existing egalitarian beliefs. For educators, activists, and policymakers, strategies to reduce sexist attitudes and fostering cultural and psychological change is paramount instead of simply placing the onus on women’s individual acts of resistance.