Internalized sexism is a form of sexist behavior and attitudes enacted by women toward themselves or other women and girls. Internalized sexism is a form of internalized oppression, which "consists of oppressive practices that continue to make the rounds even when members of the oppressor group are not present." Internalized sexism can have a range of effects on women and girls such as problems with mental health and body image. Modes of internalization of sexism include early childhood inculturation and consumption of media, while language can also moderate power imbalances between groups and perpetuate internalized sexism.
Effects
Internalized sexism has the potential to lead to body issues, lack of self-confidence, competition, and a sense of powerlessness. It is a major setback in resolving issues of sexism as a whole. Ties to psychological distress such as anxious, depressive or somatic symptoms, have been identified as results of internalized sexism. Possible effects can be depression and suicidal impulses.
Additionally, studies have found connections between sexual objectification as a result of internalized sexism and body shame, sexual objectification, and disordered eating. Internalized sexism also plays a role in lowered academic goals and diminished job performance. On a larger scale, the presence of internalized sexism in the world is believed to alienate those affected from each other and thus further promotes continued sexism as a whole.
Types
Internalized misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. Women who experience internalized misogyny may express it through minimizing the value of women, mistrusting women, and showing gender bias in favor of men. Women, after observing societal beliefs which demean the value and skills of women repeatedly, eventually internalize those misogynistic beliefs and apply them to themselves and other women. Internalized misogyny can be enacted on others through assertions of incompetence, competitive banter, construction of women as competitors, construction of women as objects, and invalidation and derogation of others or oneself. The implications of internalized misogyny include psychological disorders such as depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and less social support among women.
The Internalized Misogyny Scale (IMS) was created to assess one's internalized misogyny. It consists of 17 items measuring three factors: devaluation of women, distrust of women, and gender bias in favor of men. Its validity has been assessed and supported through multiple studies. Internalized misogyny assessed via the IMS has been found to be related to lower self-esteem, less social support, and more psychological distress among women living in America, and to negative body image, depression, low self-esteem, and less psychosexual adjustment among lesbian and bisexual women. The distrust of women subscale includes statements such as ‘It is generally safer not to trust women too much’ and ‘When it comes down to it a lot of women are deceitful.’ The devaluation of women subscale includes statements such as ‘Women seek to gain power by getting control over men’ and ‘women exaggerate problems they have at work.’ The valuing men over women subscale includes items such as ‘I prefer to work for a male boss’ and ‘The intellectual leadership of a community should be largely in the hands of men.’
Internalized misogyny may manifest differently depending on one's social and political identities; for instance, internalized misogynoir has been identified as a type of internalized oppression which results from the combination of internalized racism and internalized misogyny. Similarly, lesbians may face the combined effects of internalized misogyny and internalized homophobia as a result of their intersectional identities.
Internalized heterosexism
Dawn M. Szymanski and colleagues write:
Internalized heterosexism is generally defined as the internalization of assumptions, negative attitudes and stigma regarding homosexuality by individuals who do not identify within the heteronormative spectrum and/or are categorized as sexual minorities to varying degrees. Internalized heterosexism is a manifestation of internalized sexism that primarily affects sexual minority populations (composed of people who identify lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or other), however, it can also affect heterosexual populations by dictating how they interact with and relate to non-heterosexual peoples. This phenomenon manifests when sexual minorities begin to adopt rigid heteronormative values into their worldviews.