beak

“Our findings demonstrate that sexist humor is not simply benign amusement. For men who have sexist attitudes it can create a perceived social norm of tolerance of discrimination against women, and as a result, increase personal tolerance of discrimination against women and even increase willingness to engage in sexist behavior without fears of disapproval.”

“The truth is that a lot of these moments that seem period and horrible for women come directly from experiences that I and the other women writers have had in our lifetimes,” said Robin Veith, the executive story editor of Mad Men. Which may be yet another truth about sexism: We can’t face it directly unless we’re assured that it’s behind us. In order to admit that it’s awful, we may have to feel that we’ve been absolved.”