Sexist Politicians and Social Pressure: The Impact of Laughing at a “Rape Joke”

• In Event: The Logic and Meaning of Gender

Abstract

Why do voters, including female voters, support sexist politicians? Politicians’ public displays of sexist attitudes are an age-old recurring phenomenon worldwide. Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory stimulated researchers to study this question, and many found that individual attributes influence such attitudes among voters. However, few studied the role of social influence, particularly social conformity pressure. In this study, we hypothesize that voters observing the audience’s positive reactions are more likely to positively assess the sexist politician than voters who do not. We test this claim by focusing on the Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, a known sexist who is nonetheless very popular. Our analyses use a preregistered online survey experiment where we show respondents a video clip of Duterte’s sexist joke on a rape incident he made in 2016. Our treatment condition is whether respondents hear the audience’s laughter at the end of the sexist joke. The results support our hypothesis. Our study indicates the relevance of including social factors in the study of voter attitudes and sexism. It also implies the importance of promoting an environment where sexist remarks are socially sanctioned.

Authors

• Hirofumi Miwa, Gakushuin University

• Yuko Kasuya, Keio University

• Cleo Anne Calimbahin, De La Salle University-Manila