Relationship between traditional gender ideologies and attitudes legitimizing violence and inequality in majority and minority groups

Gender inequalities and gender-based violence remain widespread phenomena, despite institutional and social efforts to promote gender equality. This thesis examines several psychosocial mechanisms that may contribute to the persistence of such phenomena, focusing in particular on the role of traditional gender ideologies as a set of descriptive and prescriptive beliefs about gender and gender relations, which may contribute to legitimizing inequalities and violence in both majority and minority groups. Drawing on social identity approaches, this work examines how collective gender norms and group-based motives sustain gender inequalities and violence. Furthermore, it identifies gender identification as one of the factors that can influence the relationship between traditional gender ideologies and attitudes legitimizing violence. The thesis includes seven studies, comprising a meta-analysis and six subsequent studies, organized into three blocks of two studies each. The meta-analysis showed that stronger adherence to gender essentialism (a traditional gender ideology) is associated with stronger system-justifying beliefs, particularly those legitimizing gender inequalities. Furthermore, this relationship tends to be stronger when gender essentialism refers to marginalized groups, while not differing by group status. The meta-analytic findings inspired broader considerations, which guided the development of the subsequent studies. The first block of studies, conducted with adolescents and young adults, focused on scenarios that do not challenge dominant gender narratives, such as relationships between cisgender and heterosexual individuals. The two studies showed that traditional gender ideologies are associated with the justification of covert forms of intimate partner violence, such as controlling behaviors, and that gender identification may play a role in shaping these legitimizing attitudes. The second block of studies examined scenarios that violate dominant gender narratives, particularly counter-stereotypical cases of female-perpetrated sexual violence. These studies highlighted that traditional gender ideologies are associated with attitudes legitimizing gender-based violence, particularly through victim blaming, with gender identification influencing this process. The third block explored the presence and possible reduction of traditional gender ideologies within preschools. A research-based intervention conducted with preschool children showed that training aimed at reducing stereotypes can foster more flexible representations of gender. The final study, conducted with teachers, found that their adherence to traditional ideologies can influence the adoption of gender-typed educational practices. Overall, the thesis suggests that traditional gender ideologies contribute to the maintenance of gender inequalities and gender-based violence, a process that can be understood in light of social identity mechanisms and group-based motivations. Moreover, early interventions in educational contexts may help reshape rigid and stereotyped representations of gender, fostering more flexible and less stereotyped educational environments.